Random lasers have been extensively and intensively investigated due to their fundamental importance and promising applications. Here, we explored the lasing behavior of carbon quantum dot (CQD)/Rhodamine B (RhB) composites. CQDs exhibited a broad emission spectrum which overlapped with the absorption spectrum of the RhB dye. We investigated an approach wherein the –OH, –NH2 and –PO4 group functionalized CQD/RhB composites showed lasing behavior. The optical pumping of functionalized CQD/RhB composites exhibited lasing emission which is dynamically tunable as a function of the surface properties of CQDs at the laser wavelength of 532 nm by varying the pump energy. The PO4-CQD/RhB composites showed a typical lasing emission with a linewidth of 3.2 nm at 587 nm at 1.86 mJ pump energy. We also demonstrated that the pH value of CQD solution played a key role on the lasing behavior of CQD/composites.

Random lasing is desired in plasmonics nanostructures through surface plasmon amplification. In this study, tunable random lasing behavior was observed in dye molecules attached with Au nanorods (NRs), Au nanoparticles (NPs) and Au@Ag nanorods (NRs) respectively. Our experimental investigations showed that all nanostructures i.e., Au@AgNRs, AuNRs & AuNPs have intensive tunable spectral effects. The random lasing has been observed at excitation wavelength 532 nm and varying pump powers. The best random lasing properties were noticed in Au@AgNRs structure, which exhibits broad absorption spectrum, sufficiently overlapping with that of dye Rhodamine B (RhB). Au@AgNRs significantly enhance the tunable spectral behavior through localized electromagnetic field and scattering. The random lasing in Au@AgNRs provides an efficient coherent feedback for random lasers.

Abstract1D nanoparticle arrangements have gained widespread attention because of their unique collective physical properties and potential applications in functional devices. To push the device integration toward its intrinsic limits, the precise positioning of colloidal nanoparticles into 1D layout is still a challenging task, especially for nanoparticles in the sub-20 nm range. In this work, a novel strategy based on the synergistic modulation of lateral and bottom electrostatic potential of grooves is applied, thus demonstrating a high-resolution confinement of 1D colloidal nanoparticle arrays. The mechanism of spatial potential modulation is elucidated in details, through the combination of quantitative theoretical modeling and consistent experimental results. A crystal-clear guide for the development of novel applications with both fundamental and technological perspectives is therefore provided.

It is hard for metal nanoparticle catalysts to control the selectivity of a catalytic reaction in a simple process. In this work, we obtain active Au nanoparticle catalysts with high selectivity for the hydrogenation reaction of aromatic nitro compounds, by simply employing spine-like Au nanoparticles. The density functional theory (DFT) calculations further elucidate that the morphological effect on thermal selectivity control is an internal key parameter to modulate the nitro hydrogenation process on the surface of Au spines. These results show that controlled morphological effects may play an important role in catalysis reactions of noble metal NPs with high selectivity.

Building a complex structure system of conductive polymers without a complicated fabricating process is a long-awaited goal to improving the functional photoresponse properties of conductive polymers. In this study, we demonstrate that the photoresponse of polypyrrole (PPy)-based photodetector devices with an ultrathin polymer layer can be chemically modulated by simply immersing the devices into an alkaline solution. After alkaline treatment, the pyrrole unit transforms into a quinoid structure. Characteristics of current–voltage reveal an increased photosensitivity with several orders of magnitude when decreasing the applied bias voltage. Furthermore, ultrathin PPy belts with a width of 100 nm exhibit ultra-high photosensitivites of roughly 1000 (unit) and photoresponsivities of 54.3 A W−1 due to the high surface area ratio of the nanobelts.

Neutral green-emitting four-coordinate Cu(I) complexes with general formula POPCu(NN), where POP = bis[2-(diphenylphosphino)phenyl]ether and NN = substituted 2-pyridine-1,2,4-triazole ligands, were synthesized. The crystal structures of (POPCuMeCN)+(PF6)− (1), POPCuPhPtp (2a, PhPtp = 2-(5-phenyl-2H-[1,2,4]triazol-3-yl)-pyridine), and POPCu(3,5-2FPhPtp) (2d, 3,5-2FPhPtp = 2-(5-(3,5-difluorophenyl)-2H-1,2,4-triazol-3-yl)pyridine) were determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. The electronic and photophysical properties of the complexes were examined by UV–vis, steady-state, and time-resolved spectroscopy. At room temperature, weak emission was observed in solution, while in the solid state, all complexes exhibit intense green emission with quantum yield up to 0.54. The electronic and photophysical properties were further supported by calculation performed at the (time-dependent) density functional theory level. One of the complexes was also tested as dopant in electroluminescent devices.

We report a new strategy to directly attach Au nanoparticles onto YAG:Ce3+ phosphor via a chemical preparation method, which yields efficient and quality conversion of blue to yellow light in the presence of a low amount of phosphor. Photoluminescent intensity and quantum yield of YAG:Ce3+ phosphor are significantly enhanced after Au nanoparticle modification, which can be attributed to the strongly enhanced local surface electromagnetic field of Au nanoparticles on the phosphor particle surface. The CIE color coordinates shifted from the blue light (0.23, 0.23) to the white light region (0.30, 0.33) with a CCT value of 6601 K and a good white light CRI value of 78, which indicates that Au nanoparticles greatly improve the conversion efficiency of low amounts of YAG:Ce3+ in WLEDs.

We present here a study on the electrical conduction properties of individual polypyrrole nanobelts by using conductive atomic force microscopy and discuss a general effect while probing soft materials. A length-dependent analysis demonstrates that the tip could induce local defects into the polymer structure and, thus diminishes the electrical conduction.

Given the interdisciplinary challenges in materials sciences, chemistry, physics, and biology, as well as the demands to merge electronics and photonics at the nanometer scale for miniaturized integrated circuits, plasmonics serves as a bridge by breaking the limit in the speed of nanoscale electronics and the size of terahertz dielectric photonics. Active plasmonic systems enabling active control over the plasmonic properties in real time have opened up a wealth of potential applications. This review focuses on the development of active plasmonic response devices. Significant advances have been achieved in control over the dielectric properties of the active surrounding medium, including liquid crystals, polymers, photochromic molecules and inorganic materials, which in turn allows tuning of the reversible plasmon resonance switch of neighboring metal nanostructures.

Plasmonic metal nanostructures have recently attracted extensive research and developed into a promise approach for enhancing the performance of various optoelectronic devices. This brief article reviews recent research advances on the plasmonic enhanced optoelectronic devices and highlights a variety of strategies of incorporating plasmonic nanostructures into different optoelectronics such as solar cells, light-emitting diode, and multicolor photodetector, etc. In addition, the benefits of using various plasmonic metal nanostructures are discussed and the resulting enhancement mechanisms are displayed and summarized.