Surface plasmon resonances of metallic nanostars/nanoflowers for surface-enhanced Raman scattering

TL;DR

This paper theoretically investigates the plasmon resonances of metallic nanostars and nanoflowers, revealing their potential for enhanced Raman scattering due to strong local field enhancements at petal gaps.

Contribution

It provides a detailed analysis of how nanoflower shape and symmetry affect plasmon resonances and near-field enhancements relevant for SERS applications.

Findings

Large field enhancements at petal gaps facilitate SERS

Shape and symmetry influence resonance spectral dependence

Nanostars/nanoflowers are promising for molecular sensing

Abstract

We investigate theoretically the optical properties associated to plasmon resonances of metal nanowires with cross section given by low-order Chebyshev nanoparticles (like rounded-tip nanostars or nanoflowers). The impact of the nanoflower shape is analyzed for varying symmetry and deformation parameter through the spectral dependence of resonances, and their corresponding near field distributions. Large field intensity enhancements are obtained at the gaps between petals, apart from the tips themselves, which make these nanostars/nanoflowers specially suitable to host molecules for SERS sensing applications.