Optical pulling force on nanoparticle clusters with gain due to Fano-like resonance

We demonstrate that,in a simple linearly-polarized plane wave,the optical pulling forces on nanoparticle clusters with gain can be induced by the Fano-like resonance.The numerical results based on the full-wave calculation show that the optical pulling forces can be attributed to the recoil forces for the nanoparticle clusters composed of dipolar nanoparticles with three different configurations.Interestingly,the recoil forces giving rise to optical pulling forces are exactly dominated by the coupling term between the electric and magnetic dipoles excited in the nanoparticle clusters,while other higherorder terms have a negligible contribution.In addition,the optical pulling force can be tailored by modulating the Fano-like resonance via either the particle size or the gain magnitude,offering an alternative freedom degree for optical manipulations of particle clusters.

Control of the interparticle spacing in superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticle clusters by surface ligand engineering

Polymer-mediated self-assembly of superparamagnetic iron oxide（SPIO） nanoparticles allows modulation of the structure of SPIO nanocrystal cluster and their magnetic properties. In this study, dopamine-functionalized polyesters（DApolyester） were used to directly control the magnetic nanoparticle spacing and its effect on magnetic resonance relaxation properties of these clusters was investigated. Monodisperse SPIO nanocrystals with different surface coating materials（poly（ε-caprolactone）, poly（lactic acid）） of different molecular weights containing dopamine（DA） structure（DA-PCL2k,DA-PCL1k, DA-PLA1k）） were prepared via ligand exchange reaction, and these nanocrystals were encapsulated inside amphiphilic polymer micelles to modulate the SPIO nanocrystal interparticle spacing. Small-angle x-ray scattering（SAXS）was applied to quantify the interparticle spacing of SPIO clusters. The results demonstrated that the tailored magnetic nanoparticle clusters featured controllable interparticle spacing providing directly by the different surface coating of SPIO nanocrystals. Systematic modulation of SPIO nanocrystal interparticle spacing can regulate the saturation magnetization（Ms） and T2 relaxation of the aggregation, and lead to increased magnetic resonance（MR） relaxation properties with decreased interparticle spacing.

Highly Ordered Lattice Orientation of ZnO Nanoparticles Formed in Confined Space

Oriented aggregation of nanoparticles has been accomplished by means of solid state reac- tion. Non-crystallized and crystallized ZnO nanoparticles/clusters could be accommodated in the lamellar spacing of inorganic-organic composite, which were prepared by thermolysis of layered solid zinc-oleate complex at 260 and 300 ℃ in air, respectively. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy and selected area electron diffraction patterns indicate that aggregates are single crystals with various defects. The photoluminescence excitation spectra of both samples show two bands at 272 and 366 nm. The former may originate from electron transfer from valence band to conduction band in ZnO clusters composed of less than 200 ZnO molecules （2R〈2 nm）.

Photocurrent improvement of an ultra-thin silicon solar cell using the localized surface plasmonic effect of clustering nanoparticles

The cluster-shaped plasmonic nanostructures are used to manage the incident light inside an ultra-thin silicon solar cell.Here we simulate spherical,conical,pyramidal,and cylindrical nanoparticles in a form of a cluster at the rear side of a thin silicon cell,using the finite difference time domain(FDTD)method.By calculating the optical absorption and hence the photocurrent,it is shown that the clustering of nanoparticles significantly improves them.The photocurrent enhancement is the result of the plasmonic effects of clustering the nanoparticles.For comparison,first a cell with a single nanoparticle at the rear side is evaluated.Then four smaller nanoparticles are put around it to make a cluster.The photocurrents of 20.478 mA/cm2,23.186 mA/cm2,21.427 mA/cm2,and 21.243 mA/cm2 are obtained for the cells using clustering conical,spherical,pyramidal,cylindrical NPs at the backside,respectively.These values are 13.987 mA/cm2,16.901 mA/cm2,16.507 mA/cm2,17.926 mA/cm2 for the cell with one conical,spherical,pyramidal,cylindrical NPs at the backside,respectively.Therefore,clustering can significantly improve the photocurrents.Finally,the distribution of the electric field and the generation rate for the proposed structures are calculated.

Strengthening nanocomposite magnetism through microemulsion synthesis

The magnetic strength and versatility of heterostructures generated via a simple microemulsion cluster-formation technique is demonstrated. This approach allows optimization of individual component magnetic nanoparticles prior to heterostructuring, expediting the discovery and optimization of hybrid magnetic materials. The efficacy of this method is validated through a magnetic study of nanoparticle clusters combining antiferromagnetic CoO and superparamagnetic CoFe204 nanoparticles with tunable particle ratio and size. An enhancement of coercivity compared with pure CoFe204 nanoparticles indicates that close interparticle contacts are achieved. Upon annealing, an exchange bias field of 0.32 T was observed--over twice that achieved in any other colloidally-synthesized system. Additionally, the unique microstructure is defined during cluster formation and thus protects magnetic coercivity during the annealing process. Overall, this work demonstrates a general approach for quickly exploring magnetic parameter space, designing interparticle functionality, and working towards the construction of high-value bulk magnets with low materials and processing cost.