Micro, Nano, and Molecular Systems Article 2020

Chiroptical spectroscopy of a freely diffusing single nanoparticle

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Micro, Nano, and Molecular Systems
  • Postdoctoral Researcher
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Micro, Nano, and Molecular Systems
Thumb ticker sm mark andrew
Micro, Nano, and Molecular Systems
PostDoc, Petzow Prize winner (2015), now Manager of Optical Engineering at Metamaterial Technologies Inc. (MTI), Nova Scotia, Canada.
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Micro, Nano, and Molecular Systems
Professor
Singlechiral

Chiral plasmonic nanoparticles can exhibit strong chiroptical signals compared to the corresponding molecular response. Observations are, however, generally restricted to measurements on stationary single particles with a fixed orientation, which complicates the spectral analysis. Here, we report the spectroscopic observation of a freely diffusing single chiral nanoparticle in solution. By acquiring time-resolved circular differential scattering signals we show that the spectral interpretation is significantly simplified. We experimentally demonstrate the equivalence between time-averaged chiral spectra observed for an individual nanostructure and the corresponding ensemble spectra, and thereby demonstrate the ergodic principle for chiroptical spectroscopy. We also show how it is possible for an achiral particle to yield an instantaneous chiroptical response, whereas the time-averaged signals are an unequivocal measure of chirality. Time-resolved chiroptical spectroscopy on a freely moving chiral nanoparticle advances the field of single-particle spectroscopy, and is a means to obtain the true signature of the nanoparticle’s chirality.

Author(s): Sachs, Johannes and Günther, Jan-Philipp and Mark, Andrew G. and Fischer, Peer
Journal: Nature Communications
Volume: 11
Pages: 4513
Year: 2020
Month: September
Day: 9
Bibtex Type: Article (article)
DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-18166-5
URL: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-18166-5
Electronic Archiving: grant_archive

BibTex

@article{2020Sachs,
  title = {Chiroptical spectroscopy of a freely diffusing single nanoparticle},
  journal = {Nature Communications},
  abstract = {Chiral plasmonic nanoparticles can exhibit strong chiroptical signals compared to the corresponding molecular response. Observations are, however, generally restricted to measurements on stationary single particles with a fixed orientation, which complicates the spectral analysis. Here, we report the spectroscopic observation of a freely diffusing single chiral nanoparticle in solution. By acquiring time-resolved circular differential scattering signals we show that the spectral interpretation is significantly simplified. We experimentally demonstrate the equivalence between time-averaged chiral spectra observed for an individual nanostructure and the corresponding ensemble spectra, and thereby demonstrate the ergodic principle for chiroptical spectroscopy. We also show how it is possible for an achiral particle to yield an instantaneous chiroptical response, whereas the time-averaged signals are an unequivocal measure of chirality. Time-resolved chiroptical spectroscopy on a freely moving chiral nanoparticle advances the field of single-particle spectroscopy, and is a means to obtain the true signature of the nanoparticle’s chirality.},
  volume = {11},
  pages = {4513},
  month = sep,
  year = {2020},
  slug = {2020sachs},
  author = {Sachs, Johannes and G{\"u}nther, Jan-Philipp and Mark, Andrew G. and Fischer, Peer},
  url = {https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-18166-5},
  month_numeric = {9}
}