Plasmon resonance coupling in strongly coupled gold nanotube arrays with structural defects

We theoretically investigate the transmission spectra and the field distributions with different defects in the gold nanotube arrays by using the finite-difference time-domain method. It is found that the optical properties of the nanotube arrays are strongly influenced by different defects. When there are no defects in the central nanotube, the values of peaks located at both sides of the photonic band gap have their maxima. Based on the distributions of electric field component Ex and the total energy distribution of the electric and the magnetic field, we show that mainly a dipole field distribution is exhibited for the plasmon mode at the long-wavelength edge of the band gap but higher order modes of the composite are excited at the short-wavelength edge of the band gap. The plasmon resonant modes can also be controlled by introducing defects.

Tunable plasmon resonance coupling in coaxial gold nanotube arrays

The optical properties and plasmon resonance coupling of double coaxial gold nanotube arrays are inves- tigated. The results show that the optical transmission is highly tunable by varying the thicknesses of the inner and outer nanotubes, the separation between the inner and outer nanotubes, and the dielectric parameters inside, between, and outside the two nanotubes. The shorter-wavelength transmission bands are very sensitive to the modification of the wall thickness of the outer nanotube, the separation, and the dielectric parameters between the double nanotubes. The dipole and multipolar plasmon modes are excited in our model. However, for small separation and refractive index, the dipole normal mode has a leading function in the transmission properties. Compared with the dipolar modes, the contribution of higher-order modes becomes larger as the parameters increase.

Nanostructured multilayer thin films of multiwalled carbon nanotubes/gold nanoparticles/glutathione for the electrochemical detection of dopamine

In the present study, multiwalled carbon nanotubes（MWCNTs）, gold nanoparticles（AuN Ps）, and glutathione（GSH） were used to fabricate multilayer nanoscale thin films. The composite thin films were fabricated by layer-by-layer technique as the films were constructed by the alternate deposition of cationic and anionic polyelectrolytes. The MWCNTs were modified via a noncovalent surface modification method using poly（diallydimethylammonium chloride） to form a cationic polyelectrolyte. An anionic polyelectrolyte was prepared by the chemical reduction of HAuCl_4 using sodium citrate as both the stabilizing and reducing agent to form anionic AuN Ps. GSH was used as an electrocatalyst toward the electro-oxidation of dopamine. The constructed composite electrode exhibits excellent electrocatalytic activity toward dopamine with a short response time and a wide linear range from 1 to 100 mmol/L. The limits of detection and quantitation of dopamine are（0.316 ± 0.081） mmol/L and（1.054 ± 0.081） mmol/L, respectively. The method is satisfactorily applied for the determination of dopamine in plasma and urine samples to obtain the recovery in the range from 97.90% to 105.00%.

Rapid method for on-site determination of phenolic contaminants in water using a disposable biosensor

A disposable biosensor was fabricated using single-walled carbon nanotubes, gold nanoparticles and tyrosinase （SWCNTs-AuNPs-Tyr） modified screen-printed electrodes. The prepared biosensor was applied to the rapid determination of phenolic contaminants within 15 minutes. The SWCNTs-AuNPs-Tyr bionanocomposite sensing layer was characterized with scanning electron micro- scopy, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and cyclic voltammetry methods. The characterization results revealed that SWCNTs could lead to a high loading of tyrosinase （Tyr） with the large surface area and the porous morphology, while AuNPs could retain the bioactivity of Tyr and enhance the sensitivity. The detection conditions, including working potential, pH of supporting electrolyte and the amount of Tyr were optimumed. As an example, the biosensor for catechol determination displayed a linear range of 8.0 × 10^-8 to 2.0 × 10^- 5 mol.L-1 with a detection limit of 4.5 × 10^-8 mol.L-1 （S/N= 3）. This method has a rapid response time within 10 s, and shows excellent repeatability and stability. Moreover, the resulting biosen- sor could be disposable, low-cost, reliable and easy to carry. This kind of new Tyr biosensor provides great potential for rapid, on-site and cost-effective analysis of phenolic contaminants in environmental water samples.