Chiral Plasmonics at the Single Nanoparticle and Single Molecule Level

凭借这一奖项，化学系的大分子、超分子和纳米化学计划将资助威廉·马奇·赖斯大学的斯蒂芬·林克教授在单纳米颗粒和潜在的单分子尺度上研究手性等离子体。手性对象不能与其镜像重叠。这方面的一个日常例子是人的手--右手手套不适合左手。因此，一个物体的手性有时被称为它的手性。许多重要的分子都是手性的，包括药物、蛋白质和DNA。就药物而言，药物的手性对其功能是绝对必要的。用圆二色谱(CD)测量了分子手性。莱斯大学的斯蒂芬·林克正在开发新的高度灵敏的方法来测量单分子的手性。这项工作的应用包括生物医学研究，制药工业，以及化学合成和催化。通过莱斯大学公民科学家计划等外联活动，向K-12年级的学生传达对纳米技术科学研究和发现的兴奋，以激励他们在与科学相关的领域追求职业生涯。这项提议的目标是使用独特的光谱方法，结合电子显微镜和电磁模拟，能够记录单个等离子体纳米粒子的CD光谱和超分辨率成像单分子。通过所提出的研究，CD信号增强与纳米结构组成和形态(尺寸、形状、颗粒间耦合)以及内在联系的等离子体激元模式(亮、暗)之间的关系是可能的。这种信息不能在系综测量中获得，特别是对于通过化学合成制备的强耦合纳米颗粒。这些研究的结果有望在手性传感平台和手性催化剂的开发以及等离子体激子-激子耦合的基础上产生广泛的科学影响。来自多个学科的概念被纳入这项研究，形成了一个专门为高中、本科生和研究生设计的广泛教育计划的平台。与纳米技术的科学研究和发现相关的激动人心的小插曲将通过外联活动(如莱斯大学的公民科学家计划)传达给K-12学生，使这些学生通过在STEM相关领域的职业生涯获得创造性进步的潜力。

With this award, the Macromolecular, Supramolecular and Nanochemistry Program in the Chemistry Division is funding Professor Stephen Link of William March Rice University to study chiral plasmonics on the single nanoparticle and potentially single molecule scale. Chiral objects cannot be overlaid with their mirror image. An everyday example of this is human hands- a right handed glove doesn't fit on the left hand. Therefore, the chirality of an object is sometimes termed its handedness. Many important molecules are chiral, including drugs, proteins, and DNA. In the case of pharmaceuticals, the chirality of the drug is absolutely essential to its function. Molecular chirality is measured by circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy. Stephan Link, at Rice University, is developing novel highly sensitive methods to measure the chirality of single molecules. The applications of this work include biomedical research, the pharmaceutical industry, and chemical synthesis and catalysis. The excitement about scientific research and discovery in nanotechnology is communicated through outreach activities such as Rice University's Civic Scientist Program to K-12 students to inspire them to pursue careers in science-related fields. The objectives of this proposal are to be accomplished using unique spectroscopic methods capable of recording CD spectra of single plasmonic nanoparticles and super-resolution imaging single molecules, in combination with electron microscopy and electromagnetic simulations. The relationship between CD signal enhancement and nanostructure composition and morphology (size, shape, interparticle coupling) and the intrinsically linked plasmon modes (bright, dark) is possible with the proposed studies. This information cannot be obtained in ensemble measurements, especially for strongly coupled nanoparticles prepared by chemical synthesis. The outcomes of these studies are expected have wide scientific impact in areas ranging from the development of chiral sensing platforms, and of chiral catalysts to the basis of plasmon-exciton coupling. Concepts from multiple disciplines are included in this research, forming a platform for a broad educational program specifically designed for high school, undergraduate, and graduate students. Exciting vignettes related to scientific research and discovery in nanotechnology are to be communicated to K-12 students through outreach activities, such as Rice University's Civic Scientist Program, to expose these students to the potential for creative advancement via careers in STEM-related fields.