Date of Graduation

8-2018

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy in Engineering (PhD)

Degree Level

Graduate

Department

Chemical Engineering

Advisor/Mentor

D. Keith Roper

Committee Member

Jerry Havens

Second Committee Member

Robert Beitle

Third Committee Member

Charles Wilkins

Fourth Committee Member

Rick Wise

Keywords

Chemical Engineering, Engineering, Heat Transfer, Nanomaterials, Nanotechnology, Plasmonics

Abstract

Growing population and climate change inevitably requires longstanding dependency on sustainable sources of energy that are conducive to ecological balance, economies of scale and reduction of waste heat. Plasmonic-photonic systems are at the forefront of offering a promising path towards efficient light harvesting for enhanced optoelectronics, sensing, and chemical separations. Two-dimensional (2-D) metamaterial arrays of plasmonic nanoparticles arranged in polymer lattices developed herein support thermoplasmonic heating at off-resonances (near infrared, NIR) in addition to regular plasmonic resonances (visible), which extends their applicability compared to random dispersions. Especially, thermal responses of 2-D arrays at coupled lattice resonance (CLR) wavelengths were comparable in magnitudes to their counterparts at plasmon wavelengths. Opto-thermal characterization of 2-D arrays was conducted with a white light irradiation in the current work. Finite element analysis involving a three-dimensional (3-D) COMSOL model mimicked the heat transfer and average temperature increases in these systems at plasmon resonances with a ≤ 0.5 % discrepancy at the absorbed, extinguished power of the radiation. All-optical, mesoscopic characterization of 2-D arrays involving trichromatic particle analysis allowed detailed investigation of effects of particle populations and ordering on the optical signals of plasmon and CLR in addition to indicating a critical point of emergence for CLR. Overall, engineering these thermoplasmonic metamaterials for enhanced optothermal dissipation at visible to near-IR radiation supports their rapid implementation into emerging sustainable energy and healthcare systems.

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