The effect of gold nanorod doping on the photoinduced properties of polymer-azobenzene complex
Laine, Aleksi (2018-10-01)
Tiivistelmä
Azobenzenes are a group of dyes that exhibit interesting photoresponsive properties. The photoresponsive properties have been a subject of study for some decades and have potential applications in numerous fields, such as holographic memory and drug delivery.
In this study the interface of plasmonics and azobenzenes was studied. The challenging tendency of the azobenzenes to aggregate was controlled by adding the azobenzene to a polymer matrix, thus creating a side-chain polymer complex. The plasmonic aspect was introduced by adding gold nanorods to the polymer-azobenzene complex.
The dispersion to and effect of the polymer complex was studied using TEM and UV-vis spectrometry. The effect of the presence of the nanorods was studied by observing the photoinduced birefringence with different gold concentrations. The effect of the orientation of the polymers on the nanorods was studied by observing the photoinduced dichroism.
The plasmonic-azobenzene interface has not been studied exhaustively and the possible phenomena were related to the plasmonic effects on the azobenzene or the orienting effect of the azobenzene carrying on to the nanorods. However, no relevant enhancements on the photoinduced properties of the azobenzene complex or orientation of the nanorods was observed.
In this study the interface of plasmonics and azobenzenes was studied. The challenging tendency of the azobenzenes to aggregate was controlled by adding the azobenzene to a polymer matrix, thus creating a side-chain polymer complex. The plasmonic aspect was introduced by adding gold nanorods to the polymer-azobenzene complex.
The dispersion to and effect of the polymer complex was studied using TEM and UV-vis spectrometry. The effect of the presence of the nanorods was studied by observing the photoinduced birefringence with different gold concentrations. The effect of the orientation of the polymers on the nanorods was studied by observing the photoinduced dichroism.
The plasmonic-azobenzene interface has not been studied exhaustively and the possible phenomena were related to the plasmonic effects on the azobenzene or the orienting effect of the azobenzene carrying on to the nanorods. However, no relevant enhancements on the photoinduced properties of the azobenzene complex or orientation of the nanorods was observed.