Article
Chemistry, Physical
Ashish Prajapati, Gil Shalev
Summary: This study demonstrates the excellent broadband absorption of the solar spectrum by utilizing arrays composed of light funnel arrays integrated with top nanolenses. The integration of nanolenses helps to reduce the reflection of light funnel arrays and achieve higher optical coupling efficiency. The numerical results show that the combination of light funnel arrays and nanolenses can increase the broadband absorption by about 12% under normal illumination. The enhancement in broadband absorption under oblique illumination is also confirmed. Photovoltaic cells based on this structure demonstrate an increase of approximately 10% in short-circuit current. The findings of this study are of great importance for improving the efficiency of solar energy harvesting.
ACS APPLIED ENERGY MATERIALS
(2022)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Zuoxu Wu, Wenhua Xue, Yijie Liu, Shuaihang Hou, Jun Mao, Yumei Wang, Xingjun Liu, Qian Zhang, Zhifeng Ren, Feng Cao
Summary: In this study, a randomly textured absorber was achieved by depositing a cermet-based quasi-optical cavity structure absorber onto a structured stainless-steel substrate. It showed omnidirectional absorption-enhanced light absorption over a wide incidence-angle range up to 75 degrees, surpassing previously reported absorbers. The absorber's superior angular absorption is attributed to multiscale scattering on its randomly textured surface and resonance absorption in its quasi-optical cavity structure.
ADVANCED OPTICAL MATERIALS
(2022)
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Huiyong Li, Chen Shen, Shuai Sun, Chun Li, Hui Zhang, Zhong Zhang
Summary: Researchers have developed a needle-like array structure (NAS) by spraying and self-assembling a magnetic composite ink under an external magnetic field. The NAS exhibits extremely low hemispherical reflectance (<= 0.3%) over a wide spectral range of 300-2000 nm and stable omnidirectional absorption (incident angle insensitivity up to 70 degrees), making it one of the darkest surfaces ever reported. The NAS shows outstanding photothermal conversion, self-cleaning performance, flexibility, and thermal-aging resistance, offering a promising alternative for constructing ultrablack surfaces for practical applications.
ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES
(2023)
Article
Optics
Chensheng Li, Ruhao Pan, Guangzhou Geng, Ruixuan Zheng, Changzhi Gu, Haiming Guo, Junjie Li
Summary: A GST-based metasurface with strong absorption of unpolarized light over a large angular range and ultra-broadband coverage from ultraviolet to near-infrared region is demonstrated. The high absorptivity is achieved through the combination of field localizations and intrinsic loss in the metasurface structure.
LASER & PHOTONICS REVIEWS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Biao-Feng Zeng, Jun-Ying Wei, Xia-Guang Zhang, Qing-Man Liang, Shu Hu, Gan Wang, Zhi-Chao Lei, Shi-Qiang Zhao, He-Wei Zhang, Jia Shi, Wenjing Hong, Zhong-Qun Tian, Yang Yang
Summary: The study explores the capability of the mechanically controllable surface strain method in adjusting the surface structure of a gold film. It finds that by controlling the surface tension, the electrochemical activities of quasi-single-crystalline gold films can be effectively enhanced, offering potential applications in electrocatalysis, molecular electronics, and materials science.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Zijun Yong, Shu Gong, Anthony S. R. Chesman, Qianqian Shi, Lim Wei Yap, Yvonne Hora, Runfang Fu, Fenge Lin, Wenlong Cheng
Summary: Researchers have developed flexible artificial leaves that can perform model chemical reactions under omnidirectional light illumination and low light intensity conditions. The leaves consist of elastomer-bonded, CdS-coated, enokitake-like gold nanowire arrays, which offer high surface area and efficient light absorption. This photocatalytic system mimics the features of natural biosystems and shows promising potential for various applications.
Article
Optics
Xiancui Yang, Furong Shui, Yanli Yu, Zao Yi, Haiou Li, Zhimou Xu, Fabi Zhang, Jian Xiong, Xingpeng Liu, Peihua Wangyang, Tangyou Sun
Summary: This study presents an all layers patterned conical nanostructured thin-film silicon solar cell to enhance the low absorption caused by the thin absorption layers. The results demonstrate higher photocurrent density and power conversion efficiency for the structure, showcasing the potential of fully patterned nanostructures in thin-film photovoltaic devices.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Zhi-Gang Yu
Summary: Exciton transport plays a central role in optoelectronic and photonic devices. Tightly bound excitons in quasi-two-dimensional hybrid organic-inorganic perovskites (HOIPs) can rapidly diffuse within 2D layers with a non-monotonic temperature dependence. Surprisingly, interlayer exciton diffusion is also effective despite the large interlayer distance.
JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL PHYSICS
(2022)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Deepak Patil, Maya Overland, Marshall Stoller, Kaushik Chatterjee
Summary: This review discusses the current state-of-the-art in designing bioinspired mechano-bactericidal surfaces and theoretical models to understand the underlying phenomena at the cell-material interface. It summarizes the different processes used to create nanostructured surfaces and their effects on bactericidal activity, while also critically analyzing recent findings that challenge the current understanding. Lastly, it presents the challenges and opportunities in fabricating nanostructures on devices and implants for clinical use.
CURRENT OPINION IN CHEMICAL ENGINEERING
(2021)
Review
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Siti Nurhanna Riduan, Yugen Zhang
Summary: Self-disinfecting surfaces are crucial for public health during the COVID-19 pandemic, with various antimicrobial technologies being developed and applied in public spaces.
ACCOUNTS OF CHEMICAL RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Dieter Skroblin, Analia Fernandez Herrero, Thomas Siefke, Konstantin Nikolaev, Anna Andrle, Philipp Hoenicke, Yves Kayser, Michael Krumrey, Christian Gollwitzer, Victor Soltwisch
Summary: The grazing emission X-ray fluorescence (GEXRF) technique offers a promising approach to determine the distribution of chemical elements in nanostructures. In this study, we compared it with grazing incidence small-angle X-ray scattering (GISAXS) method on TiO2 nanostructures and tested its potential for process control in the presence of residual chromium. The results also highlighted the importance of considering roughness effects and imperfections when modeling advanced nanostructured surfaces.
Review
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Antonio Minopoli, Adriano Acunzo, Bartolomeo Della Ventura, Raffaele Velotta
Summary: Biosensor-based methods offer a promising approach for affordable and rapid biochemical analyses, but face challenges such as fabrication complexity and poor sensitivities. Research on plasmonic nanostructures shows potential in sensing field, with performances resulting from plasmon-related effects and adaptability to various applications.
ADVANCED MATERIALS INTERFACES
(2022)
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Ivan Shtepliuk, Ivan G. Ivanov, Nikolaos Pliatsikas, Tihomir Iakimov, Samuel Lara-Avila, Kyung Ho Kim, Nabiha Ben Sedrine, Sergey E. Kubatkin, Kostas Sarakinos, Rositsa Yakimova
Summary: This study investigates the deposition behavior of gold nanostructures on graphenized SiC substrates, revealing significant differences in growth morphology on different surfaces. Theoretical simulations demonstrate that these differences can be attributed to the interaction strength between gold and the substrates.
ACS APPLIED NANO MATERIALS
(2021)
Review
Microbiology
Denver P. Linklater, Vladimir A. Baulin, Saulius Juodkazis, Russell J. Crawford, Paul Stoodley, Elena P. Ivanova
Summary: Antibiotic resistance poses a global health threat, while newly developed antibacterial nanostructured surfaces demonstrate promising prospects in medicine, showing potential for playing a crucial role in preventing bacterial infections.
NATURE REVIEWS MICROBIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Chenliang Xia, Rui Wang, Pengwei Zhu, Fulong Wang, Lihua Dong, Huimin Wang, Yuliang Wang
Summary: In this study, we investigated the fabrication of GNP decorated sample surfaces for optimized production of plasmonic bubbles. The size and density of GNPs can be well-tuned by adjusting gold film thickness and annealing temperature. We also found that high annealing temperature leads to the formation of nanoindents beneath GNPs, resulting in the partial enwrapment of GNPs into fused silica substrates, which increases the stability of GNPs and improves the nucleation and growth dynamics of plasmonic bubbles.
SURFACES AND INTERFACES
(2023)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Mayte Gomez-Castano, Juan Luis Garcia-Pomar, Luis Alberto Perez, Sharvina Shanmugathasan, Serge Ravaine, Agustin Mihi
ADVANCED OPTICAL MATERIALS
(2020)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Remi Merindol, Nicolas Martin, Thomas Beneyton, Jean-Christophe Baret, Serge Ravaine
Summary: This study addresses the challenges of controlling the size of DNA microstructures and embedding them with fast responsiveness by combining arrested phase separation and microfluidic confinement to produce monodisperse DNA particles and implementing a light-controlled coil-globule transition of the microgel DNA network. The assembly of light-responsive microgel superstructures is demonstrated as proof-of-concept hierarchical all-DNA materials.
ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Jiahui Xu, Zhaogang Dong, Mohamed Asbahi, Yiming Wu, Hao Wang, Liangliang Liang, Ray Jia Hong Ng, Hailong Liu, Renaud A. L. Vallee, Joel K. W. Yang, Xiaogang Liu
Summary: Efficient anti-Stokes emission can be achieved within nanometric volumes for compact photonic devices through the integration of lanthanide-activated nanocrystals with gold nanotrenches. Coupling upconversion nanoparticles with subwavelength gap-plasmon modes enhances spontaneous emission rates and boosts upconversion efficiency significantly.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Laurent Lermusiaux, Veronique Many, Philippe Barois, Virginie Ponsinet, Serge Ravaine, Etienne Duguet, Mona Treguer-Delapierre, Alexandre Baron
Summary: The study focuses on the design and chemical synthesis of plasmonic nanoresonators with a strong magnetic response in the visible range, demonstrating the effectiveness of a novel nanoscale structure in numerical simulations.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Bin Liu, Stephanie Exiga, Etienne Duguet, Serge Ravaine
Summary: This study presents a new method for fabricating silica nanoparticles with different numbers of patches, and demonstrates the formation of various structures through self-assembly.
Review
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Jiahui Xu, Yue Wu, Pinzheng Zhang, Yiming Wu, Renaud A. L. Vallee, Suli Wu, Xiaogang Liu
Summary: Dielectric nanoparticles are a new class of photonic building blocks that enhance light-matter interactions within nanometric volumes, with strong electric and magnetic responses and negligible energy dissipation. Progress has been made in designing efficient dielectric nanoresonators in recent decades.
ADVANCED OPTICAL MATERIALS
(2021)
Article
Polymer Science
Bin Liu, Weiya Li, Etienne Duguet, Serge Ravaine
Summary: Self-assembly of nanosized building blocks is an efficient strategy for producing organized materials. In this study, the chaining of silica nanoparticles with polystyrene patches dispersed in tetrahydrofuran is investigated. The influence of patch-to-particle size ratio and the nature of the added nonsolvent are studied, showing that the chains can cyclize beyond a certain length. The addition of one-patch silica nanoparticles is also shown to control the length of the chains.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Bin Liu, Serge Ravaine, Etienne Duguet
Summary: We report a solvent-induced assembly method for synthesizing one-patch silica nanoparticles. By controlling multiple stages in the synthesis process, highly pure nanoparticles with a fine control of the patch-to-particle size ratio can be obtained. Self-assembly in specific solvent conditions leads to the formation of clusters and micelle structures with different sizes. The research provides an effective method for preparing nanostructures.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Sharvina Shanmugathasan, Auriane Bagur, Etienne Ducrot, Sonia Buffiere, Peter van Oostrum, Serge Ravaine, Etienne Duguet
Summary: This study reports the synthesis of spherical silica particles with two organic patches on their surface. The multi-stage synthesis process resulted in high purity products, and it was found that polyethylenimine played a significant role in the synthesis.
COLLOIDS AND SURFACES A-PHYSICOCHEMICAL AND ENGINEERING ASPECTS
(2022)
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Jiarong Cai, Wei Zhang, Liguang Xu, Changlong Hao, Wei Ma, Maozhong Sun, Xiaoling Wu, Xian Qin, Felippe Mariano Colombari, Andre Farias de Moura, Jiahui Xu, Mariana Cristina Silva, Evaldo Batista Carneiro-Neto, Weverson Rodrigues Gomes, Renaud A. L. Vallee, Ernesto Chaves Pereira, Xiaogang Liu, Chuanlai Xu, Rafal Klajn, Nicholas A. Kotov, Hua Kuang
Summary: In this study, chiral gold nanoparticles were assembled into nanoporous membranes to achieve high sensitivity to circular polarization through light-induced polarization-dependent ion accumulation. By using suitable modification, a photocurrent as high as 2.41 times higher can be obtained under right-handed circularly polarized light. This technology holds great potential for applications in chiral photonics.
NATURE NANOTECHNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Rawan Khalaf, Andrea Viamonte, Etienne Ducrot, Remi Merindol, Serge Ravaine
Summary: Patchy particles have gained attention for their ability to develop directional and selective interactions and serve as building blocks for self-assembling innovative colloidal molecules and crystalline structures. A new approach using colloidal stamps has been introduced to pattern functional DNA patches on particle surfaces, enabling selective strand-displacement reactions. These produced DNA-patchy particles are ideal candidates for advanced precision and designer building blocks to self-assemble the next generation of colloidal materials.
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Bin Liu, Etienne Duguet, Serge Ravaine
Summary: Particles with attractive patches were synthesized and assembled into dimers or trimers by controlling the patch-to-particle size ratio. When mixed with two-patch nanoparticles, one-patch nanoparticles acted as colloidal chain stoppers, controlling the length of the resulting chains. This strategy allows for the future fabrication of novel colloidal structures through controlled assembly of nanoparticles.
BEILSTEIN JOURNAL OF NANOTECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Manufacturing
Borui Li, Jacques Lalevee, Leszek Mateusz Mazur, Katarzyna Matczyszyn, Serge Ravaine, Safi Jradi
Summary: Two-photon polymerization is an important method for additive manufacturing of 3D polymer micro and nanostructures. The development of new photoinitiators with high sensitivity and good performance is necessary to enhance the spatial resolution of writing. The copper complex photoinitiator G1 showed higher resolution and sensitivity than some commercial photoinitiators, allowing higher writing rates.
ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING
(2023)
Review
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Zhongyu Cai, Zhiwei Li, Serge Ravaine, Mingxin He, Yanlin Song, Yadong Yin, Hanbin Zheng, Jinghua Teng, Ao Zhang
Summary: Photonic crystals (PhCs) have attracted intense interests for their potential applications in optics and photonics, with self-assembled colloidal crystals (CCs) offering unprecedented opportunities. This paper reviews state-of-the-art techniques in self-assembly of colloidal particles for large-area high-quality CCs, discussing common defects encountered, mechanisms of crack/defect formation, and versatile fabrication methods for defect-free CCs. The advanced self-assembly methods developed for high-quality CCs and unique photonic structures are highlighted, along with future approaches in fabrication and real-world applications.
CHEMICAL SOCIETY REVIEWS
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Nabila Tanjeem, Cyril Chomette, Nicholas B. Schade, Serge Ravaine, Etienne Duguet, Mona Treguer-Delapierre, Vinothan N. Manoharan
Summary: A new approach to making plasmonic metamolecules with well-controlled resonances at optical wavelengths is described, utilizing a multi-step colloidal synthesis method to achieve nanometer-scale precision in morphology. Using single-cluster spectroscopy, it is shown that the plasmonic resonances are reproducible from cluster to cluster. By comparing the spectra to theory, the multi-step synthesis approach is demonstrated to control the distances between metallic surfaces with nanometer-scale precision.
MATERIALS HORIZONS
(2021)