Exploiting plasmonic effects of metal nanostructures on single graphene sheets for the study of chemical functionalization and sensing

金属纳米结构中的等离子体效应由于其对结合动力学和生长现象的高界面敏感性而显示出化学和生物传感的前景。金属薄膜表面等离子体激元共振（SPR）能有效地将表面的结合过程转化为吸收特性的敏感变化。金属纳米颗粒的局部表面等离子体激元（LSPR）提供了一种简单的方法来感测其局部环境的介电常数变化。石墨烯与这种等离子体结构的组合使用扩展了感测应用背景下的可能性范围。该提案旨在系统地探索石墨烯-金属纳米结构的混合物，并考虑到两个具体目标。首先，利用SPR的高界面灵敏度，通过电化学修饰，真实的研究石墨烯上功能层的生长动力学。在相同的框架下，将研究通过施加电势来调制界面灵敏度的能力。其次，石墨烯的高光响应性将被用于石墨烯-金属-纳米颗粒混合物的新架构中，以评估它们在流体环境中作为纳米颗粒的LSPR的电检测器的用途。总之，拟议的活动将扩展使用石墨烯的（L）SPR检测的能力，并为常规化学传感器和生物传感器的设计开辟道路。

Plasmonic effects in metal nanostructures show promise for chemical and biological sensing due to their high interfacial sensitivity to binding kinetics and growth phenomena. Suface plasmon resonances (SPR) at thin metal films efficiently transduce binding processes at surfaces into sensitive variations in the absorption characteristics. Local surface plasmons (LSPR) at metal nanoparticles provide a simple way to sense changes in dielectric constant of their local environment. The use of graphene in combination with such plasmonic structures extends the spectrum of possibilities in the context of sensing applications. This proposal aims to explore hybrids of graphene-metal nanostructures systematically with two specific goals in mind. First, the high interfacial sensitivity of SPR will be exploited to study the growth kinetics of functional layers on graphene in real time by electrochemical modification. In the same framework, the capability to modulate the interfacial sensitivity by an applied potential will be investigated. Secondly, the high photoresponsivity of graphene will be utilized in new architectures of graphene-metal-nanoparticle hybrids to evaluate their use as electrical detectors of LSPR of the nanoparticles in a fluidic environment. In all, the proposed activities will extend the capabilities of (L)SPR-based detection using graphene and open avenues for the design of routine chemical sensors and biosensors.