We present a laser-assisted system for dispensing liquid micro-droplets by near infrared illumination of a pyroelectric crystal functionalized with gold nanorods embedded into polyvinyl alcohol. The non-invasive near infrared source resonates with the plasmon oscillations of the gold nanorods, providing a controlled thermal stimulus able to generate the pyroelectric effect. The resulting electric field interacts electro-hydrodynamically with a liquid reservoir leading to precise drawing of micro-litre droplets. This laser-assisted electro-hydrodynamic technique may open the way to the development of more compact and non-invasive nano-dispensing devices. (C) 2013 AIP Publishing LLC.
Plasmon resonance of gold nanorods for all-optical drawing of liquid droplets
de Angelis M;Matteini P;Ratto F;Pini R;Coppola S;Grilli S;Vespini V;Ferraro P
2013
Abstract
We present a laser-assisted system for dispensing liquid micro-droplets by near infrared illumination of a pyroelectric crystal functionalized with gold nanorods embedded into polyvinyl alcohol. The non-invasive near infrared source resonates with the plasmon oscillations of the gold nanorods, providing a controlled thermal stimulus able to generate the pyroelectric effect. The resulting electric field interacts electro-hydrodynamically with a liquid reservoir leading to precise drawing of micro-litre droplets. This laser-assisted electro-hydrodynamic technique may open the way to the development of more compact and non-invasive nano-dispensing devices. (C) 2013 AIP Publishing LLC.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
