Book Description
While past research has considered the interaction between metal nanoparticles and photo-sensitive molecules, especially the possibility of initiating nanoscale photopolymerization based on the localized surface plasmons of such particles, this PhD dissertation describes the in-depth characterization and optimization of such interactions that result in nanoscale photopolymerization. The present work demonstrates our ability to use the nanophotopolymerization process to quantitatively map with unprecedented resolution, better than 5 nm, both, the near-field of metallic nanoparticles associated with their localized surface plasmons, and the local electric fields resulting from surface charges density at metal/dielectric interfaces. We will emphasize that a precise characterization of the nanoscale molecular mold of the confined electromagnetic field of metal colloids enabled us to quantify the near-field depth and its enhancement factor. Moreover, a near-field spectrum corresponding to the response of localized surface plasmons of a single metal nanoparticle will be assessed. Additionally, we present nanoscale resolution maps of the spatial distribution of the surface charge density created by the electric field dis-continuity at a non-resonant metal/dielectric interface. Furthermore, this work will prove that the nanoscale photopolymerization approach does not only map the near-field of metal nanoparticles, yet it constitutes, from a more fundamental point of view, a unique opportunity to investigate nanophotochemistry.
