Issue 15, 2013

Super-resolution imaging of interactions between molecules and plasmonic nanostructures

Abstract

Super-resolution far-field imaging has recently emerged as a novel strategy for imaging interactions between plasmonic nanostructures and single molecules with spatial resolution <5 nm. In these experiments, the emission centroid of a diffraction-limited spot is modeled as a two-dimensional Gaussian, allowing the position of an emitter to be determined with nanoscale precision. In this perspective, we describe the principles of super-resolution far-field imaging and then highlight its application to several different problems in plasmonics, including surface-enhanced fluorescence of ligands bound to nanoparticle surfaces, nanoparticle-mediated catalysis, and mapping electromagnetic hot spots. In all cases, the complex coupling between molecular emission and plasmon modes of the underlying nanostructure must be considered. While this complicates the interpretation of super-resolution images of plasmonic systems, the coupling also opens new doors for understanding the fundamental interactions between molecules and plasmonic nanostructures.

Graphical abstract: Super-resolution imaging of interactions between molecules and plasmonic nanostructures

Article information

Article type
Perspective
Submitted
01 Nov 2012
Accepted
07 Jan 2013
First published
08 Jan 2013

Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2013,15, 5345-5354

Super-resolution imaging of interactions between molecules and plasmonic nanostructures

K. A. Willets, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2013, 15, 5345 DOI: 10.1039/C3CP43882A

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements