Prof. Sungho Park’s Research Team, Develops Asymmetric Plasmonic Particles and Analyses Optical Properties

 [Image 1] Sungho Park (Corresponding author, SKKU professor, left), Navid (First author, SKKU Doctoral Program, right)

With the recent increase in social interest in energy and bio-detection, research using nanoparticles in the fields of catalyst, optics, bio application research has been active. Just as it is common to have an isotropic stabilized structure, isotropic particle structures with stabilized surface energy are common in nanoparticles.

Recently, however, many efforts have been made to synthesize nanoparticles that have an anisotropic structure with unique physical and chemical characteristics. Asymmetric frame nanoparticle synthesis is mainly synthesized through etching process, with the limitation including high production cost, complex synthesis process, and difficulty of controlling fine particle.  

 The research team led by Prof. Sungho Park of the Department of Chemistry developed various chemical reactions in the solution and synthesized asymmetric plasmonic particles with unique optical properties through the multi-phase synthesis process. The final synthesized structure was the Split nanorings, and the fine adjustment of the bending angle of the Split nanorings enabled systematic analysis of the overall movement of electrons due to their interaction with light on the asymmetric particle surface.  

[Image 2] multi-phase synthesis process for synthesizing Split nanorings

In addition, the team newly presented an asymmetric plasmonic SP-SERS substrate, which could not be synthesized in aqueous solution before by discovering that the near electromagnetic field is maximized inside of line gap through single-particle surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SP-SERS).

The result of this research was published in Nano Letters (IF: 12.344), a world-renowned journal. This research presents the sophisticated control and analysis methodology of nanoparticles and are expected to play a leading role in nanoparticle development and application research that can be used in various fields such as nanoparticles, optics, sensors, and metamaterials.

Title: “Synthesis and Surface Plasmonic Characterization of Asymmetric Au Split Nanorings" (Nano Letters, September 2020)