Selective control of reconfigurable chiral plasmonic metamolecules

Sci Adv. 2017 Apr 21;3(4):e1602803. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.1602803. eCollection 2017 Apr.

Abstract

Selective configuration control of plasmonic nanostructures using either top-down or bottom-up approaches has remained challenging in the field of active plasmonics. We demonstrate the realization of DNA-assembled reconfigurable plasmonic metamolecules, which can respond to a wide range of pH changes in a programmable manner. This programmability allows for selective reconfiguration of different plasmonic metamolecule species coexisting in solution through simple pH tuning. This approach enables discrimination of chiral plasmonic quasi-enantiomers and arbitrary tuning of chiroptical effects with unprecedented degrees of freedom. Our work outlines a new blueprint for implementation of advanced active plasmonic systems, in which individual structural species can be programmed to perform multiple tasks and functions in response to independent external stimuli.

Keywords: Circular Dichroism; DNA nanotechnology; Self assembly; active plasmonics; enantioselectivity.