Hybrid Orthorhombic Carbon Flakes Intercalated with Bimetallic Au-Ag Nanoclusters: Influence of Synthesis Parameters on Optical Properties
1
Emeritus Group Leuchs, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light, 91058 Erlangen, Germany
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Institute of Optics, Information and Photonics, University Erlangen-Nuremberg, 91058 Erlangen, Germany
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School of Advanced Optical Technologies, University Erlangen-Nuremberg, 91052 Erlangen, Germany
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Institute of Chemistry, St. Petersburg State University, 198504 St. Petersburg, Russia
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Faculty of physics, St. Petersburg State University, 198504 St. Petersburg, Russia
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Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Nanomaterials 2020, 10(7), 1376; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano10071376
Received: 18 June 2020 / Revised: 7 July 2020 / Accepted: 11 July 2020 / Published: 15 July 2020
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Laser Synthesis of Nanomaterials)
Until recently, planar carbonaceous structures such as graphene did not show any birefringence under normal incidence. In contrast, a recently reported novel orthorhombic carbonaceous structure with metal nanoparticle inclusions does show intrinsic birefringence, outperforming other natural orthorhombic crystalline materials. These flake-like structures self-assemble during a laser-induced growth process. In this article, we explore the potential of this novel material and the design freedom during production. We study in particular the dependence of the optical and geometrical properties of these hybrid carbon-metal flakes on the fabrication parameters. The influence of the laser irradiation time, concentration of the supramolecular complex in the solution, and an external electric field applied during the growth process are investigated. In all cases, the self-assembled metamaterial exhibits a strong linear birefringence in the visible spectral range, while the wavelength-dependent attenuation was found to hinge on the concentration of the supramolecular complex in the solution. By varying the fabrication parameters one can steer the shape and size of the flakes. This study provides a route towards fabrication of novel hybrid carbon-metal flakes with tailored optical and geometrical properties.