We demonstrate nanometer precision manipulation of multiple nanoparticles at room temperature. This is achieved using the optical binding force, which has been assumed to be weak compared to the optical gradient and scattering forces. We show that trapping by the optical binding force can be over 20 times stronger than by the gradient force and leads to ultrastable, rigid configurations of mult...

We report inelastic electron tunneling spectroscopy (IETS) of multilayer molecular junctions with and without incorporated metal nanoparticles. The incorporation of metal nanoparticles into our devices leads to enhanced IET intensity and a modified line shape for some vibrational modes. The enhancement and line-shape modification are both the result of a low lying hybrid metal nanoparticle-mole...

O. D. Miller, C. W. Hsu, 3 M. T. H. Reid, W. Qiu, B. G. DeLacy, J. D. Joannopoulos, M. Soljačić, and S. G. Johnson Department of Mathematics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139 Department of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139 Department of Physics, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138 U.S. Army Edgewood Chemical Biological Center, Rese...

The refractive index sensing properties of plasmonic resonances in gold nanoparticles (nanorods and nanobipyramids) are investigated through numerical simulations. We find that the quadruple resonance in both nanoparticles shows much higher sensing figure of merit (FOM) than its dipolar counterpart, which is attributed mainly to the reduction in resonance linewidth. More importantly, our result...

Protein detection at the femtomolar level can be achieved by using metallic nanoparticle assemblies that function as surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy reporters and that contain suitable surface-bound recognition elements. Proper control of the interaction between nanoparticles within the assemblies is critical for achieving this performance.

We apply the boundary element method to the analysis of the plasmon response of systems that consist of coupled metallic nanoscatterers. For systems made of two or more objects, the response depends strongly on the individual particle behavior as well as on the separation distance and on the configuration of the particles relative to the illumination direction. By analyzing the behavior of thes...

Metallic nanoparticles with a unique morphology were produced by combining bottom-up nucleation/growth and top-down etching for Au core-Pt shell nanoparticles. Interesting optical and electrocatalytic properties were observed for the newly formed shapes.

Anisotropic metal nanoparticles have been paid much attention because the broken symmetry of these nanoparticles often leads to novel properties. Anisotropic gold nanoparticles obtained by wet chemical methods inevitably accompany spherical ones due to the intrinsically high symmetry of face-centred cubic metal. Therefore, it is essential for the purification of anisotropic gold nanoparticles. ...

Precious metal nanoparticles are commonly used as the main active components of various catalysts. Given their high cost, limited quantity, and easy loss of catalytic activity under severe conditions, precious metals should be used in catalysts at low volumes and be protected from damaging environments. Accordingly, reducing the amount of precious metals without compromising their catalytic per...