Claims
- 1. A method for producing an asymmetric nanoparticle from a nanoparticle core comprising:
(a) masking a portion of the nanoparticle core such that the nanoparticle has masked and unmasked regions; (b) attaching conducting colloid material to the unmasked regions; and (c) reducing additional conducting material onto the unmasked regions, such that a conducting partial shell covers the nanoparticle core, forming an asymmetric nanoparticle.
- 2. The method according to claim 1 wherein the nanoparticle core comprises a functionalized dielectric or semiconducting material.
- 3. The method according to claim 2 wherein the dielectric material is selected from the group consisting of silica, titania, polymethyl methacrylate, polystyrene, gold sulfide and macromolecules.
- 4. The method according to claim 2 wherein the semiconducting material is selected from the group consisting of CdSe, CdS and GaAs.
- 5. The method according to claim 1 wherein the conducting material comprises an organic or metallic conducting material.
- 6. The method according to claim 5 wherein the organic conducting material is selected from the group consisting of polyacetylene and doped polyanaline.
- 7. The method according to claim 5 wherein the metallic conducting material is selected from the group consisting of gold, silver, copper, platinum, palladium, lead, iron, and nickel.
- 8. The method according to claim 1 wherein the nanoparticle core is masked with a polymeric masking material.
- 9. The method according to claim 1 wherein the conducting partial shell covers approximately 10-90% of the nanoparticle.
- 10. The method according to claim 9 wherein the nanoparticle comprises a nanocap.
- 11. The method according to claim 9 wherein the nanoparticle comprises a nanocup.
- 12. The method according to claim 1 wherein the nanoparticle has a variable plasmon resonance.
- 13. The method according to claim 12 wherein the plasmon resonance is dependent on the orientation of the nanoparticle with respect to incident light.
- 14. An asymmetric nanoparticle comprising:
a nanoparticle core; and a conducting partial shell, wherein the conducting partial shell is formed by a method which includes masking one or more regions of the nanoparticle core.
- 15. A light detecting device comprising the nanoparticle of claim 14.
- 16. A chemical sensing device comprising the nanoparticle of claim 14.
- 17. A dopant in an optically active material comprising the nanoparticle of claim 14.
- 18. An electronic ink comprising the nanoparticle of claim 14.
- 19. A surfactant comprising the nanoparticle of claim 14.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/012,791 filed Nov. 5, 2001, and also claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/369,251 filed Apr. 1, 2002. The disclosures of those applications are incorporated herein by reference.
Provisional Applications (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
|
60369251 |
Apr 2002 |
US |
Continuation in Parts (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
10012791 |
Nov 2001 |
US |
Child |
10404759 |
Apr 2003 |
US |