Manipulating the Collective Surface Plasmon Resonances of Aligned Gold Nanorods in Electrospun Composite Nanofibers

Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) is an interesting optical property that has been intensively studied in recent years. Herein, we report that the SPRs of gold nanorods (Au NRs) embedded in electrospun poly(vinyl alcohol) nanofibrous films can be manipulated via several approaches such as the change of Au NR percentage in the composite nanofibers, swelling-induced refractive index decrease of local environment, and swelling-induced increase of inter-rod distances among the embedded Au NRs. The electrospun composite nanofibrous films exhibit excellent sensing ability to the swelling solvents with short responsible time and remarkable reversibility. This study advances the fundamental understandings of plasmonic properties for electrospun composite nanofibrous films; thus, it can benefit the novel design of smart nanomaterials for broad sensing and nanophotonic applications.