@article{PavlenkoSanderCuietal.2016,
  author    = {Pavlenko, Elena S. and Sander, Mathias and Cui, Q. and Bargheer, Matias},
  title     = {Gold Nanorods Sense the Ultrafast Viscoelastic Deformation of Polymers upon Molecular Strain Actuation},
  series = {The journal of physical chemistry : C, Nanomaterials and interfaces},
  volume    = {120},
  journal   = {The journal of physical chemistry : C, Nanomaterials and interfaces},
  publisher = {American Chemical Society},
  address   = {Washington},
  issn      = {1932-7447},
  doi       = {10.1021/acs.jpcc.6b06915},
  pages     = {24957 -- 24964},
  year      = {2016},
  abstract  = {On the basis of the layer-by-layer deposition of polyelectrolytes, we have designed hybrid nanolayer composites for integrated optoacoustic experiments. The femtosecond-laser-excitation of an Azo functionalized film launches nanoscale strain waves at GHz frequencies into a transparent polymer layer. Gold nanorods deposited on the surface sense the arrival of these hyper-sound-waves on the picosecond time scale via a modification of their longitudinal plasmon resonance. We simulated the strain waves using a simple linear masses-and-springs model, which yields good agreement with the observed time scales associated with the nanolayer thicknesses of the constituent materials. From systematic experiments with calibrated strain amplitudes we conclude that reversible viscoelastic deformations of the polyelectrolyte multilayers are triggered by ultrashort pressure transients of about 4 MPa. Our experiments show that strain-mediated interactions in nanoarchitectures composed of molecular photoswitches and plasmonic particles may be used to design new functionalities. The approach combines the highly flexible and cost-effective preparation of polyelectrolyte multilayers with ultrafast molecular strain actuation and plasmonic sensing. Although we use simple flat layered structures for demonstration, this new concept can be used for three-dimensional nanoassemblies with different functionalities. The ultrafast and reversible nature of the response is highly desirable, and the short wavelength associated with the high frequency of the hyper-sound-waves connecting photoactive molecules and nanoparticles inherently gives spectroscopic access to the nanoscale. High-frequency elastic moduli are derived from the ultrafast spectroscopy of the hypersonic response in polyelectrolyte multilayers.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{MitzscherlingCuiKoopmanetal.2015,
  author    = {Mitzscherling, Steffen and Cui, Q. and Koopman, Wouter-Willem Adriaan and Bargheer, Matias},
  title     = {Dielectric function of two-phase colloid-polymer nanocomposite},
  series = {Physical chemistry, chemical physics : a journal of European Chemical Societies},
  volume    = {17},
  journal   = {Physical chemistry, chemical physics : a journal of European Chemical Societies},
  number    = {44},
  publisher = {Royal Society of Chemistry},
  address   = {Cambridge},
  issn      = {1463-9076},
  doi       = {10.1039/c5cp04326c},
  pages     = {29465 -- 29474},
  year      = {2015},
  abstract  = {The plasmon resonance of metal nanoparticles determines their optical response in the visible spectral range. Many details such as the electronic properties of gold near the particle surface and the local environment of the particles influence the spectra. We show how the cheap but highly precise fabrication of composite nanolayers by spin-assisted layer-by-layer deposition of polyelectrolytes can be used to investigate the spectral response of gold nanospheres (GNS) and gold nanorods (GNR) in a self-consistent way, using the established Maxwell-Garnett effective medium (MGEM) theory beyond the limit of homogeneous media. We show that the dielectric function of gold nanoparticles differs from the bulk value and experimentally characterize the shape and the surrounding of the particles thoroughly by SEM, AFM and ellipsometry. Averaging the dielectric functions of the layered surrounding by an appropriate weighting with the electric field intensity yields excellent agreement for the spectra of several nanoparticles and nanorods with various cover-layer thicknesses.},
  language  = {en}
}