Back to Search
Start Over
Tracking the rotation of single CdS nanorods during photocatalysis with surface plasmon resonance microscopy.
- Source :
-
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America [Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A] 2019 Apr 02; Vol. 116 (14), pp. 6630-6634. Date of Electronic Publication: 2019 Mar 14. - Publication Year :
- 2019
-
Abstract
- While rotational dynamics of anisotropic nanoobjects has often been limited in plasmonic and fluorescent nanomaterials, here we demonstrate the capability of a surface plasmon resonance microscopy (SPRM) to determine the orientation of all kinds of anisotropic nanomaterials. By taking CdS nanorods as an example, it was found that two-dimensional Fourier transform of the asymmetrical wave-like SPRM image resulted in a peak in its angular spectrum in k space. Consistency between the peak angle and the geometrical orientation of the nanorod was validated by both in situ scanning electron microscope characterizations and theoretical calculations. Real-time monitoring of the rotational dynamics of single CdS nanorods further revealed the accelerated rotation under appropriate reaction conditions for photocatalyzed hydrogen generation. The driving force was attributed to the asymmetric production of hydrogen molecules as a result of inhomogeneous distribution of reactive sites within the nanorod. The present work not only builds the experimental and theoretical connections between the orientation of anisotropic nanomaterials and its SPRM images; the general suitability of SPRM also sheds light on broad types of nonfluorescent and nonplasmonic anisotropic nanoobjects from semiconductors to bacteria and viruses.<br />Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.<br /> (Copyright © 2019 the Author(s). Published by PNAS.)
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 1091-6490
- Volume :
- 116
- Issue :
- 14
- Database :
- MEDLINE
- Journal :
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 30872472
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1820114116