Synthesis, Optical and Electronic Investigations of Organically Bridged Metal Nanoparticle Arrays

Abstract

The study of metal nanoparticles has been a growing field over the past 10 years. Many investigations have been performed that investigate the optical and electronic properties of these nanoparticles. Studies have been published that show the properties of individual nanoparticles and also large aggregates of nanoparticles. An area that has been largely ignored is the effect of symmetry and interparticle distance on electronic and optical coupling. This has largely been due to the lack of synthetic methods that allow precise control over the number of particles in an array, the symmetry that these particles obtain, and the interparticle distance in these arrays. This dissertation will discuss methods for synthesizing organic bridges that template the interparticle geometry to molecular dimensions. The discussion continues with characterization of these nanoparticle arrays. The role of symmetry and interparticle distance will be in the forefront as these nanoparticle arrays are investigated for linear electromagnetic coupling and non-linear optical response. Spectroscopy will be shown that directly addresses the position of this linking bridge. In addition, electrochemical behavior is shown as a function of interparticle coupling.