Silver Nanodisk Monolayers with Surface Coverage Gradients for Use as Optical Rulers and Protractors

Colloidal silver nanodisks (AgNDs) are assembled into a monolayer with a coverage density gradient (CDG) on the surface of flat and cylindrical substrates using the Langmuir–Blodgett (LB) technique. Compressing the LB monolayers during transfer to the substrates causes the CDG assembly of the AgNDs. By functionalizing the AgNDs with poly­(ethylene glycol), it is possible to control their order inside the LB monolayer assembly by changing the deposition surface pressure. Well-separated AgNDs, 2D aggregates with different numbers of particles, and highly packed 2D arrays are formed as the deposition surface pressure is increased. Localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) spectra collected at different separation distances from the highest coverage spot (HCS) of the CDG AgND arrays on a flat substrate are blue-shifted, and the shift increases systematically upon increasing the distance. The relationship among the LSPR peak position, the peak intensity at a fixed wavelength, and the corresponding separation distance from the HCS is fitted exponentially. A similar systematic blue shift in the LSPR spectrum of the CDG AgND monolayer on a cylindrical substrate is obtained when the substrate is rotated at different angles relative to the HCS. The fabricated CDG AgND monolayers can potentially be used for optically measuring distances and angles.