Harnessing Asymmetry in Hybrid Metal Nanocrystal Assemblies

The interaction between metallic nanoparticles creates highly enhanced, localised electric fields and has recently emerged as a strategic area widely applicable across physics, chemistry and biology for sensing, optoelectronics and optical films. The novel optical signatures of larger, highly symmetric nanoparticle assemblies may be drastically changed by breaking the structural symmetry, leading to unique phenomenon such as Fano-like resonances. This proposal aims to extend metal nanoparticle assemblies to include fluorophores in well-defined positions, creating an inherent and switchable symmetry breaking. Inclusion of additional functionality into such structures is essential for their use in smart optical films and switchable devices.