Photonic hook formation in near-infrared with MXene Ti3C2 nanoparticles

Marat Spector,Angeleene S Ang,Oleg V Minin,Igor V Minin,Alina Karabchevsky

doi:10.1039/d0na00485e

Abstract

MXenes, a recently developed class of 2D materials, have attracted considerable attention because of their graphene-like but highly tunable properties. It appears that the metallic properties of MXene titanium carbide are pronounced in near-infrared with well-defined localised surface plasmon resonance (LSPR). Here, we report on a curved photonic nanojet, known as the photonic hook, applied on a titanium carbide nanoparticle for the particle's optomechanical manipulation. We show that the optical forces generated and applied on titanium carbide nanoparticles of various shapes are based on the LSPR excitation in near-infrared. We compare the obtained results to traditional plasmonic gold nanoparticles which exhibit LSPR in visible. Considering the diversity of the MXene family, this study is a first step towards photonic devices that utilize optomechanical manipulation in near-infrared for biomedical research, optical trapping and others.

Highlights

MXenes, rst discovered in 2011,1 are a diverse novel family of two dimensional nanomaterials formed from transition metal carbides and carbonitrides
We show that the optical forces generated and applied on titanium carbide nanoparticles of various shapes are based on the localised surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) excitation in near-infrared
We investigate the excitation of LSPR under continuous wave (CW) illumination

Summary

Introduction

MXenes, rst discovered in 2011,1 are a diverse novel family of two dimensional nanomaterials formed from transition metal carbides and carbonitrides These materials are derived from Mn+1AXn, MAX phases, where n 1⁄4 1 to 4, and M is an early transition metal produced by selectively etching the A-layers.[2] The derived phase is labeled MXene to emphasize their graphene-like morphology.[3] MXenes are environmentally benign, with strong hydrophilic properties due to their unique layered structure and chemical stability. We will show that for the case of titanium carbide nanoparticles, the creation of the photonic hook can be successfully tuned to near-infrared

Ti3C2 LSPR

Nanosphere

Optical force applied on a Ti3C2 nanosphere

Non-spherical particles

Nanorod

Summary