Control of surface plasmon localization via self-assembly of silver nanoparticles along silver nanowires

Abstract

A simple and low-cost method to create metal-metal hybrid nanostructures possessing fairly regularly spaced hot-spots of surface plasmon resonances is proposed. The nanohybrid structure was prepared via self-assembly during a simple drop-casting procedure, using chemically synthesized silver nanowires and silver nanoparticles prepared in a single batch of a polyol process. Wide field illumination of these nanohybrids produced hot-spots with spacings of around 500 nm to 1 μm. The intensity of the emission/scattering from the hotspots fluctuates over time. The proposed structure can be useful for the development of molecular-sensors or as a substrate for surface enhanced Raman/fluorescence spe..