Investigation of black phosphorus as a nano-optical polarization element by polarized Raman spectroscopy

Manipulating the polarization of light at the nanoscale is essential for the development of nano-optical devices. Owing to its corrugated honeycomb structure, two-dimensional （2D） layered black phosphorus （BP） exhibits outstanding in-plane optical anisotropy with distinct linear dichroism and optical birefringence in the visible region, which are superior characteristics for ultrathin polarizing optics. Herein, taking advantage of polarized Raman spectroscopy, we demonstrate that layered BP with a nanometer thickness can remarkably alter the polarization state of a linearly-polarized laser and behave as an ultrathin optical polarization element in a BP-Bi2Se3 stacking structure by inducing the exceptionally polarized Raman scattering of isotropic Bi2Se3. Our findings provide a promising alternative for designing novel polarization optics based on 2D anisotropic materials, which can be easily integrated in micro- sized all-optical and optoelectronic devices.

A red-emitting water-soluble fluorescent probe for biothiol detection with a large Stokes shift

In this work, we presented a fluorescent probe(MCQ-DNBS) for selective and sensitive detection of biothiols based on a methylated chromenoquinoline(MCQ) derivative. Probe MCQ-DNBS was constructed by masking the OH group in MCQ with a common sensing unit, 2,4-dinitrobezensulfonate group(DNBS) for biothiols. Due to the photo-induced electron transfer(PET) process between MCQ and DNBS, this probe was weekly fluorescent. Upon the addition of biothiols(Cys, Hcy and GSH), this probe emitted a strong red fluorescence(λ_(em max)=613 nm) with a large Stokes shift(115 nm). In addition,fluorescence imaging of biothiols in living cells was successfully realized using MCQ-DNBS as a detector.