Strain modulation in small molecule physisorption in two dimensions: LEED structure analysis and DFT modeling of the system.

The structure of the system was investigated experimentally by means of quantitative LEED I(V) analysis and computationally using dispersion corrected density functional theory (DFT-D). Three different structure models with four, five, and six molecules were considered. The lowest reliability factors and thus best agreement of measured and calculated I(V) curves was found for the structure model containing five molecules per surface unit cell. Essential features of the experimental best-fit adlayer structure are supported by DFT. A slight inclination and lateral shift of twofold coordinated molecules away from the on-top position over Na+ adsorption sites is interpreted as compensation of strain between substrate and adlayer.

Resonant Plasmonic Nanoslits Enable in Vitro Observation of Single-Monolayer Collagen-Peptide Dynamics.

Proteins perform a variety of essential functions in living cells and thus are of critical interest for drug delivery as well as disease biomarkers. The different functions are derived from a hugely diverse set of structures, fueling interest in their conformational states. Surface-enhanced infrared absorption spectroscopy has been utilized to detect and discriminate protein monomers. As an important step forward, we are investigating collagen peptides consisting of  a  triple helix. While they constitute the main structural building blocks in many complex proteins, they are also a perfect model system for the complex proteins relevant in biological systems. Their complex spectroscopic information as well as the overall small size present a significant challenge for their detection and discrimination. Using resonant plasmonic nanoslits, which are known to show larger specificity compared to nanoantennas, we overcome this challenge. We perform in vitro surface-enhanced absorption spectroscopy studies and track the conformational changes of these collagen peptides under two different external stimuli, which are temperature and chemical surroundings. Modeling the coupling between the amide I vibrational modes and the plasmonic resonance, we can extract the conformational state of the collages and thus monitor the folding and unfolding dynamics of even a single monolayer. This leads to new prospects in studies of single layers of proteins and their folding behavior in minute amounts in a living environment.

Nanoantenna-Enhanced Infrared Spectroscopic Chemical Imaging.

Spectroscopic infrared chemical imaging is ideally suited for label-free and spatially resolved characterization of molecular species, but often suffers from low infrared absorption cross sections. Here, we overcome this limitation by utilizing confined electromagnetic near-fields of resonantly excited plasmonic nanoantennas, which enhance the molecular absorption by orders of magnitude. In the experiments, we evaporate microstructured chemical patterns of C60 and pentacene with nanometer thickness on top of homogeneous arrays of tailored nanoantennas. Broadband mid-infrared spectra containing plasmonic and vibrational information were acquired with diffraction-limited resolution using a two-dimensional focal plane array detector. Evaluating the enhanced infrared absorption at the respective frequencies, spatially resolved chemical images were obtained. In these chemical images, the microstructured chemical patterns are only visible if nanoantennas are used. This confirms the superior performance of our approach over conventional spectroscopic infrared imaging. In addition to the improved sensitivity, our technique provides chemical selectivity, which would not be available with plasmonic imaging that is based on refractive index sensing. To extend the accessible spectral bandwidth of nanoantenna-enhanced spectroscopic imaging, we employed nanostructures with dual-band resonances, providing broadband plasmonic enhancement and sensitivity. Our results demonstrate the potential of nanoantenna-enhanced spectroscopic infrared chemical imaging for spatially resolved characterization of organic layers with thicknesses of several nanometers. This is of potential interest for medical applications which are currently hampered by state-of-art infrared techniques, e.g., for distinguishing cancerous from healthy tissues.

A Structurally Characterized Organometallic Plutonium(IV) Complex.

The blood-red plutonocene complex Pu(1,3-COT'')(1,4-COT'') (4; COT''=η8 -bis(trimethylsilyl)cyclooctatetraenyl) has been synthesized by oxidation of the anionic sandwich complex Li[Pu(1,4-COT'')2 ] (3) with anhydrous cobalt(II) chloride. The first crystal structure determination of an organoplutonium(IV) complex revealed an asymmetric sandwich structure for 4 where one COT'' ring is 1,3-substituted while the other retains the original 1,4-substitution pattern. The electronic structure of 4 has been elucidated by a computational study, revealing a probable cause for the unexpected silyl group migration.

Strong coupling between phonon-polaritons and plasmonic nanorods.

We perform far-field spectroscopy of infrared metal antennas on silicon oxide layers of different thickness, where we find a splitting of the plasmonic resonance. This splitting can result in a transparency window, corresponding to suppression of antenna scattering, respectively "cloaking" of the antenna. Backed up by theory, we show that this effect is caused by strong coupling between the metal antenna plasmons and the surface phonon polaritons in the oxide layer. The effect is a kind of induced transparency in which the strength of the phonon-polariton field plays the crucial role. It represents a further tuning possibility for the optical performance of infrared devices.

Impact of the plasmonic near- and far-field resonance-energy shift on the enhancement of infrared vibrational signals.

We report on the impact of the differing spectral near- and far-field properties of resonantly excited gold nanoantennas on the vibrational signal enhancement in surface-enhanced infrared absorption (SEIRA). The knowledge on both spectral characteristics is of considerable importance for the optimization of plasmonic nanostructures for surface-enhanced spectroscopy techniques. From infrared micro-spectroscopic measurements, we simultaneously obtain spectral information on the plasmonic far-field response and, via SEIRA spectroscopy of a test molecule, on the near-field enhancement. The molecular test layer of 4,4'-bis(N-carbazolyl)-1,1'-biphenyl (CBP) was deposited on the surface of gold nanoantennas with different lengths and thus different far-field resonance energies. We carefully studied the Fano-type vibrational lines in a broad spectral window, in particular, how the various vibrational signals are enhanced in relation to the ratio of the far-field plasmonic resonance and the molecular vibrational frequencies. As a detailed experimental proof of former simulation studies, we show the clearly red-shifted maximum SEIRA enhancement compared to the far-field resonance.

The structure of carbon monoxide adsorbed on the NaCl(100) surface­a combined LEED and DFT-D/vdW-DF study.

The structure of the first layer CO adsorbed on NaCl(100) is investigated experimentally by means of quantitative low-energy electron diffraction at 25 K, and theoretically by means of density functional theory. Consistent with earlier helium atom diffraction results, the monolayer structure has p(2×1) symmetry with a glide-plane along the longer axis of the unit cell. The structure analysis confirms the binding of CO via the carbon end to the NaCl(100) surface. The vertical distance of carbon above Na(+) is 2.58 ± 0.08 Å, in good agreement with geometry optimizations based on dispersion-corrected density functional theory, and 0.15 Å lower than predicted in calculations based on the nonlocal van der Waals density functional.

Quantum cascade laser-based hyperspectral imaging of biological tissue.

The spectroscopy of analyte-specific molecular vibrations in tissue thin sections has opened up a path toward histopathology without the need for tissue staining. However, biomedical vibrational imaging has not yet advanced from academic research to routine histopathology due to long acquisition times for the microscopic hyperspectral images and/or cost and availability of the necessary equipment. Here we show that the combination of a fast-tuning quantum cascade laser with a microbolometer array detector allows for a rapid image acquisition and bares the potential for substantial cost reduction. A 3.1 x 2.8 mm2 unstained thin section of mouse jejunum has been imaged in the 9.2 to 9.7 µm wavelength range (spectral resolution ~1 cm(-1)) within 5 min with diffraction limited spatial resolution. The comparison of this hyperspectral imaging approach with standard Fourier transform infrared imaging or mapping of the identical sample shows a reduction in acquisition time per wavenumber interval and image area by more than one or three orders of magnitude, respectively.

Surface-enhanced infrared spectroscopy using nanometer-sized gaps.

We report on the near-field coupling of individual gold nanoantennas arranged in tip-to-tip dimer configuration, leading to strong electromagnetic field enhancements in the infrared, which is of great interest for sensing applications such as surface-enhanced infrared spectroscopy. We quantitatively evaluated the enhancement of vibrational excitations of a 5 nm thick test layer of 4,4'-bis(N-carbazolyl)-1,1'-biphenyl as a function of different gap sizes. The dimers with the smallest gaps under investigation (∼3 nm) lead to more than 1 order of magnitude higher signal enhancement with respect to gaps of 50 nm width. The comparison of experimental data and finite-difference time-domain simulations reveals a nonperfect filling of the gaps with sizes below 10 nm, which means that morphological information on the nanoscale is obtained additionally to chemical information.

The structure of N2 adsorbed on the rumpled NaCl(100) surface--a combined LEED and DFT-D study.

The structure of N(2) physisorbed on the NaCl(100) single crystal surface is investigated by means of quantitative low-energy electron diffraction (LEED) in combination with dispersion corrected density functional theory (DFT-D). In the temperature range between 20 K and 45 K, a p(1 × 1) structure is observed in the LEED experiment. According to the structure analysis based on the measured diffraction spot intensity profiles, the N(2) molecules are adsorbed over the topmost Na(+) ions. The experimental distance of the lower nitrogen to the Na(+) ion underneath is (2.55 ± 0.07) Å; the corresponding DFT-D value is 2.65 Å. The axes of the molecules are tilted (26 ± 3)° with respect to the surface normal, while in the zero Kelvin optimum structure from DFT-D, the molecules have a perpendicular orientation. The experimental monolayer heat of adsorption, deduced from a Fowler-Guggenheim kinetic model of adsorption is -(13.6 ± 1.6) kJ mol(-1), including a lateral molecule-molecule interaction energy of -(2.0 ± 0.4) kJ mol(-1). The zero Kelvin adsorption energy from DFT-D, including zero point energy correction, is -15.6 kJ mol(-1); the molecule-molecule interaction is -2.4 kJ mol(-1). While the rumpling of the NaCl(100) surface is unchanged upon adsorption of nitrogen, the best-fit root mean square thermal displacements of the ions in the topmost substrate layer are significantly reduced.

Structure of CO2 adsorbed on the KCl(100) surface.

The structure and dynamics of the adsorbate CO(2)/KCl(100) from a diluted phase to a saturated monolayer have been investigated with He atom scattering (HAS), low-energy electron diffraction (LEED), and polarization dependent infrared spectroscopy (PIRS). Two adsorbate phases with different CO(2) coverage have been found. The low-coverage phase is disordered at temperatures near 80 K and becomes at least partially ordered at lower temperatures, characterized by a (2√2×√2)R45° diffraction pattern. The saturated 2D phase has a high long-range order and exhibits (6√2×√2)R45° symmetry. Its isosteric heat of adsorption is 26 ± 4 kJ mol(-1). According to PIRS, the molecules are oriented nearly parallel to the surface, the average tilt angle in the saturated monolayer phase is 10° with respect to the surface plane. For both phases, structure models are proposed by means of potential calculations. For the saturated monolayer phase, a striped herringbone structure with 12 inequivalent molecules is deduced. The simulation of infrared spectra based on the proposed structures and the vibrational exciton approach gives reasonable agreement between experimental and simulated infrared spectra.

Helium atom scattering study of the interaction of water with the BaF2(111) surface.

The interaction of water with the BaF2(111) single crystal surface is investigated using the helium atom scattering technique. It is found that H2O forms a long-range ordered two-dimensional (2D) phase with (1 x 1) translational symmetry already after an exposure of 3 L (1 L=10(-6) Torr s) at temperatures below 150 K. The activation energy for desorption of the saturated 2D phase, which is assigned to a bilayer, is estimated to be 46+/-2 kJ mol(-1), corresponding to a desorption temperature of 165 K. The desorption of multilayers was observed at 150 K, consistent with a binding energy of 42+/-2 kJ mol(-1). Before completion and after desorption of the saturated 2D phase, a superstructure consistent with a disordered (square root of 3 x square root of 3)R30 degrees lattice has been observed, which is attributed to the first layer of water with a coverage of one molecule per surface unit cell, in accordance with recent theoretical studies. Desorption of this phase is observed at temperatures above 200 K, consistent with an unexpectedly strong bonding of the molecules to the substrate.