Plasmonic Nanoparticles: Radiative and Non-Radiative Properties

Nanostructures of noble metals are fascinating materials due to their unique optical properties. Due to optical resonances known as plasmons, these nanostructures display strong far-field scattering and absorption of light and the near-field confinement and enhancement of the electric field of light. These properties make them highly promising for molecular-specific imaging, optical sensing, photothermal cancer therapy, and as building blocks for nano-optic devices. There, however, exists a need to characterize and optimize the properties of these nanoparticles and their assemblies for specific nanotechnological applications. This monograph describes in detail how the radiative (scattering and near-field) and non-radiative (absorption and photothermal conversion) properties of these nanostructures can be designed and tuned by variation in the nanostructure size, geometry, environment, and inter-particle interactions. We focus primarily on the experimental and theoretical results of our own spectroscopic studies of these nanostructures.