Superchiral hot-spots in “real” chiral plasmonic structures

Gilroy, C., Koyroytsaltis-McQuire, D. J. P., Gadegaard, N. , Karimullah, A. S. and Kadodwala, M. (2022) Superchiral hot-spots in “real” chiral plasmonic structures. Materials Advances, 3(1), pp. 346-354. (doi: 10.1039/D1MA00831E)

Abstract

Light scattering from chiral plasmonic structures can create near fields with an asymmetry greater than the equivalent circularly polarised light, a property sometimes referred to as superchirality. These near fields with enhanced chiral asymmetries can be exploited for ultrasensitive detection of chiral (bio)molecules. In this combined experimental and numerical modelling study, we demonstrate that superchiral hot-spots are created around structural heterogeneities, such as protrusions and indentations, possessed by all real metal structures. These superchiral hot-spots, have chiral asymmetries greater than what would be expected from an idealised perfect structure. Our work indicates that surface morphology could play a role in determining the efficacy of a chiral structure for sensing.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Koyroytsaltis-McQuire, Dominic and Kadodwala, Professor Malcolm and Karimullah, Dr Affar and Gilroy, Mr Cameron and Gadegaard, Professor Nikolaj
• Authors: Gilroy, C., Koyroytsaltis-McQuire, D. J. P., Gadegaard, N., Karimullah, A. S., and Kadodwala, M.
• College/School: College of Science and Engineering > School of Chemistry; College of Science and Engineering > School of Engineering > Biomedical Engineering
• Journal Name: Materials Advances
• Publisher: Royal Society of Chemistry
• ISSN: 2633-5409
• ISSN (Online): 2633-5409
• Published Online: 02 November 2021
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2021 The Authors
• First Published: First published in Materials Advances 3(1): 346-354
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons License

Project Code	Award No	Project Name	Principal Investigator	Funder's Name	Funder Ref	Lead Dept
173324		Mapping the mesoscale structural landscape using "sculpted" chiral plasmonic fields	Malcolm Kadodwala	Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)	EP/P00086X/1	Chemistry
190883		Consortium for advanced materials based on spin chirality	Stephen McVitie	Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)	EP/M024423/1	P&S - Physics & Astronomy
190828		EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Sensing and Measurement	Andrew Harvey	Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)	EP/L016753/1	P&S - Physics & Astronomy
305796		A nano-resonator route to colossal magnetochiral optical effects	Malcolm Kadodwala	Leverhulme Trust (LEVERHUL)	RF-2019-023\4	Chemistry