Strong Enhancement of Circular Dichroism in a Hybrid Material Consisting of J-Aggregates and Silver Nanoparticles

Abstract

We report on the chiroptical (circular dichroism) properties of hybrid organic/inorganic nano- and microstructures consisting of dye molecules in J-aggregate states (arranged in direct and reverse micelles) and silver nanoparticles. The main results are formation of micelles in a system of interacting J-aggregates and silver nanoparticles and strong (up to 8 times) enhancement in the optical activity of complexes of J-aggregates and silver nanoparticles as compared to the CD signal from the original J-aggregates. These experimental results might have potential applications in chiral species sensing and can provide some insights on mechanisms of self-assembly of supermolecular structures and the induction of their optical activity.