Self-assembled 2D Chiral Plasmene Nanosheets for Biomarker Detection Based on Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering

In this project, I will develop chemical methods to synthesize colloidal chiral plasmonic nanoparticles and assemble them into 2D plasmene nanosheets.

Chiral components on the surface of metal nanocrystals enantioselectively interact with chiral growth-directing molecules, such as amino acids and peptides, leading to the asymmetric evolution of chiral plasmonic metal nanoparticles.

The chirality transfer from soft chiral molecules to inorganic metal surfaces derive from the highly twisted surface features on the nanoparticles induced by the chiral molecules during overgrowth.

I will synthesize chiral plasmonic nanoparticles with different morphologies, finely tune the twisted surface elements, adjust their interparticle spacings and orientation, and optimize their chiroptical responses.

Highly chiral 2D graphene-like plasmonic superlattices, or “plasmene nanosheets”, will then be fabricated on flexible substrates to serve as all-hot-spot practical chiral sensing platforms via control over interparticle spacing and orientation.

A novel functional chiral plasmonic biosensing platform will be constructed by the self-assembled 2D chiral plasmene nanosheets, based on surface-enhanced Raman scattering, for ultrasensitive biomarker detection and chirality discrimination.