Enantioselective sensing by collective circular dichroism.

Quantitative determination and in situ monitoring of molecular chirality at extremely low concentrations is still challenging with simple optics because of the molecular-scale mismatch with the incident light wavelength. Advances in spectroscopy1-4 and nanophotonics have successfully lowered the detection limit in enantioselective sensing, as it can bring the microscopic chiral characteristics of molecules into the macroscopic scale5-7 or squeeze the chiral light into the subwavelength scale8-17. Conventional nanophotonic approaches depend mainly on the optical helicity density8,9 by localized resonances within an individual structure, such as localized surface plasmon resonances (LSPRs)10-16 or dielectric Mie resonances17. These approaches use the local chiral hotspots in the immediate vicinity of the structure, whereas the handedness of these hotspots varies spatially. As such, these localized resonance modes tend to be error-prone to the stochasticity of the target molecular orientations, vibrations and local concentrations18,19. Here we identified enantioselective characteristics of collective resonances (CRs)20 arising from assembled 2D crystals of isotropic, 432-symmetric chiral gold nanoparticles (helicoids)21,22. The CRs exhibit a strong and uniform chiral near field over a large volume above the 2D crystal plane, resulting from the collectively spinning, optically induced dipoles at each helicoid. Thus, energy redistribution by molecular back action on the chiral near field shifts the CRs in opposite directions, depending on the handedness of the analyte, maximizing the modulation of the collective circular dichroism (CD).

Chiral plasmonic sensing: From the perspective of light-matter interaction.

Molecular chirality is represented as broken mirror symmetry in the structural orientation of constituent atoms and plays a pivotal role at every scale of nature. Since the discovery of the chiroptic property of chiral molecules, the characterization of molecular chirality is important in the fields of biology, physics, and chemistry. Over the centuries, the field of optical chiral sensing was based on chiral light-matter interactions between chiral molecules and polarized light. Starting from simple optics-based sensing, the utilization of plasmonic materials that could control local chiral light-matter interactions by squeezing light into molecules successfully facilitated chiral sensing into noninvasive, ultrasensitive, and accurate detection. In this Review, the importance of plasmonic materials and their engineering in chiral sensing are discussed based on the principle of chiral light-matter interactions and the theory of optical chirality and chiral perturbation; thus, this Review can serve as a milestone for the proper design and utilization of plasmonic nanostructures for improved chiral sensing.

A Single Chiral Nanoparticle Induced Valley Polarization Enhancement.

Valley polarization is among the most critical attributes of atomically thin materials. However, increasing contrast from monolayer transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) has so far been challenging. In this work, a large degree of circular polarization up to 45% from a monolayer WS2 is achieved at room temperature by using a single chiral plasmonic nanoparticle. The increased contrast is attributed to the selective enhancement of both the excitation and the emission rate having one particular handedness of the circular polarization, together with accelerated radiative recombination of valley excitons due to the Purcell effect. The experimental results are corroborated by the optical simulation using the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method. Additionally, the single chiral nanoparticle enables the observation of valley-polarized luminescence with a linear excitation. The results provide a promising pathway to enhance valley contrast from monolayer TMDs and utilize them for nanophotonic devices.

γ-Glutamylcysteine- and Cysteinylglycine-Directed Growth of Chiral Gold Nanoparticles and their Crystallographic Analysis.

Chiral optical metamaterials with delicate structures are in high demand in various fields because of their strong light-matter interactions. Recently, a scalable strategy for the synthesis of chiral plasmonic nanoparticles (NPs) using amino acids and peptides has been reported. Reported herein, 3D chiral gold NPs were synthesized using dipeptide γ-Glu-Cys and Cys-Gly and analyzed crystallographically. The γ-Glu-Cys-directed NPs present a cube-like outline with a protruding chiral wing. In comparison, the NPs synthesized with Cys-Gly exhibited a rhombic dodecahedron-like outline with curved edges and elliptical cavities on each face. Morphology analysis of intermediates indicated that γ-Glu-Cys generated an intermediate concave hexoctahedron morphology, while Cys-Gly formed a concave rhombic dodecahedron. NPs synthesized with Cys-Gly are named 432 helicoid V because of their unique morphology and growth pathway.

Neural-Network-Enabled Design of a Chiral Plasmonic Nanodimer for Target-Specific Chirality Sensing.

Quantitative analysis of chiral molecules in various solvents is essential. However, there are still many challenges to enhancing the sensitivity in precisely determining both concentration and chirality. Here, we built an algorithmic methodology to predict and optimally design the chiroptical response of chiral plasmonic sensors for a specific target chiral analyte with the aid of deep learning. Based upon the analytic and intuitive understanding of the Born-Kuhn type plasmonic nanodimer, we designed and trained the neural networks that can successfully predict the chiroptical properties and further inversely design the plasmonic structure to achieve the intended circular dichroism. The developed algorithm could identify the optimum structure exhibiting the maximum sensitivity for the given specific analytes. Surprisingly, we discovered that sensitivity strongly depends on the various conditions of analytes and can be finely tuned with the structural parameters of plasmonic nanodimers. We envision that this study can provide a general platform to develop ultrasensitive chiral plasmonic sensors whose structure and sensitivity have been evolved algorithmically for adoption in specific applications.

Strain and crystallographic identification of the helically concaved gap surfaces of chiral nanoparticles.

Identifying the three-dimensional (3D) crystal plane and strain-field distributions of nanocrystals is essential for optical, catalytic, and electronic applications. However, it remains a challenge to image concave surfaces of nanoparticles. Here, we develop a methodology for visualizing the 3D information of chiral gold nanoparticles ≈ 200 nm in size with concave gap structures by Bragg coherent X-ray diffraction imaging. The distribution of the high-Miller-index planes constituting the concave chiral gap is precisely determined. The highly strained region adjacent to the chiral gaps is resolved, which was correlated to the 432-symmetric morphology of the nanoparticles and its corresponding plasmonic properties are numerically predicted from the atomically defined structures. This approach can serve as a comprehensive characterization platform for visualizing the 3D crystallographic and strain distributions of nanoparticles with a few hundred nanometers, especially for applications where structural complexity and local heterogeneity are major determinants, as exemplified in plasmonics.

Morphological Evolution Trajectory of Multifaceted Palladium Nanoparticles.

Precise control over the morphology and facets of Pd nanomaterials has great importance in catalytic and sensing applications. In this study, we synthesized Pd nanoparticles with multiple types of low-Miller-index-faceted morphologies by systematically defining the synthesis conditions of the seed-mediated colloidal preparation method. We discovered the morphological evolution of Pd nanoparticles by following the trajectory of the surface Miller indices, which were determined by the cooperative effects of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide and ascorbic acid. By precise control of the morphological trajectory, Pd nanoparticles with a new cuborhombicube morphology, composed of 36 facets and concave edges, were discovered. This study provides important insight into the design of the surface Miller indices and morphologies of functional nanomaterials.

Circularly polarized light-sensitive, hot electron transistor with chiral plasmonic nanoparticles.

The quantitative detection of circularly polarized light (CPL) is necessary in next-generation optical communication carrying high-density information and in phase-controlled displays exhibiting volumetric imaging. In the current technology, multiple pixels of different wavelengths and polarizers are required, inevitably resulting in high loss and low detection efficiency. Here, we demonstrate a highly efficient CPL-detecting transistor composed of chiral plasmonic nanoparticles with a high Khun's dissymmetry (g-factor) of 0.2 and a high mobility conducting oxide of InGaZnO. The device successfully distinguished the circular polarization state and displayed an unprecedented photoresponsivity of over 1 A/W under visible CPL excitation. This observation is mainly attributed to the hot electron generation in chiral plasmonic nanoparticles and to the effective collection of hot electrons in the oxide semiconducting transistor. Such characteristics further contribute to opto-neuromorphic operation and the artificial nervous system based on the device successfully performs image classification work. We anticipate that our strategy will aid in the rational design and fabrication of a high-performance CPL detector and opto-neuromorphic operation with a chiral plasmonic structure depending on the wavelength and circular polarization state.

Tyrosyltyrosylcysteine-Directed Synthesis of Chiral Cobalt Oxide Nanoparticles and Peptide Conformation Analysis.

Chiral inorganic nanomaterials have revealed opportunities in various fields owing to their strong light-matter interactions. In particular, chiral metal oxide nanomaterials that can control light and biochemical reactions have been highlighted due to their catalytic activity and biocompatibility. In this study, we present the synthesis of chiral cobalt oxide nanoparticles with a g-factor of 0.01 in the UV-visible region using l- and d-Tyr-Tyr-Cys ligands. The conformation of the Tyr-Tyr-Cys peptide on the nanoparticle surfaces was identified by 2D NMR spectroscopy analysis. In addition, the sequence effect of Tyr-Tyr-Cys developing chiral nanoparticles was analyzed. The revealed peptide structure, along with the experimental results, demonstrate the important role of the thiol group and carboxyl group of the Tyr-Tyr-Cys ligand in chirality evolution. Importantly, due to the magnetic properties of chiral cobalt oxide nanoparticles and their strong absorption in the UV region, the circular dichroism (CD) responses can be dramatically modulated under an external magnetic field.

Chiral Surface and Geometry of Metal Nanocrystals.

Chirality is a basic property of nature and has great importance in photonics, biochemistry, medicine, and catalysis. This importance has led to the emergence of the chiral inorganic nanostructure field in the last two decades, providing opportunities to control the chirality of light and biochemical reactions. While the facile production of 3D nanostructures has remained a major challenge, recent advances in nanocrystal synthesis have provided a new pathway for efficient control of chirality at the nanoscale by transferring molecular chirality to the geometry of nanocrystals. Interestingly, this discovery stems from a purely crystallographic outcome: chirality can be generated on high-Miller-index surfaces, even for highly symmetric metal crystals. This is the starting point herein, with an overview of the scientific history and a summary of the crystallographic definition. With the advance of nanomaterial synthesis technology, high-Miller-index planes can be selectively exposed on metallic nanoparticles. The enantioselective interaction of chiral molecules and high-Miller-index facets can break the mirror symmetry of the metal nanocrystals. Herein, the fundamental principle of chirality evolution is emphasized and it is shown how chiral surfaces can be directly correlated with chiral morphologies, thus serving as a guide for researchers in chiral catalysts, chiral plasmonics, chiral metamaterials, and photonic devices.

Uniform Chiral Gap Synthesis for High Dissymmetry Factor in Single Plasmonic Gold Nanoparticle.

Synthesis of chiral plasmonic materials has been highlighted for the last decades with their optical properties and versatile potential applications. Recently reported aqueous-based amino acid- and peptide-directed synthesis of chiral plasmonic gold nanoparticles with 432 point-group symmetry shows exceptionally high chiroptic response within 100 nm scales. Despite its already excellent chiroptic response, a single-nanoparticle dark field scattering study revealed that full chiroptic potential of chiral gold nanoparticle is limited with its overall synthetic uniformity. Based on this knowledge, we present a multi-chirality-evolution step synthesis method for the enhancement of chiroptic response through an increase in particle uniformity. Detailed time variant study and interrelationship study of reaction parameters allowed the systematic construction of design principles for chiral nanoparticles with exceptional chiroptic response. With the application of precisely controlled growth kinetic to two distinct growth regimes, modified chiral gold nanoparticles showed significantly improved uniformity, achieving an improved dissymmetry factor of g = 0.31. We expect that our strategy will aid in precise morphology and property control for chiral nanomaterials, which can be used in various plasmonic metamaterial applications.