In situ Optical Study of Gold Nanorod Coupling with Graphene

Electron or energy transfer process is critical to understand the interaction between graphene and metal nanostructures. Combining atomic force microscope nanomanipulation with single-particle spectroscopy enables in situ investigation of the interaction between single gold nanorod and monolayer graphene. This paper reveals that scattering and photoluminescence intensity of the nanorod decreased after coupling with monolayer graphene. The coupling strength is distance dependent and different for diverse nanoparticles, resulting in intensity quenching ratio varying from 20% to 60%, and broadening of resonance linewidth varying from 18 to 38 meV. These results clarify previous controversy between ensemble studies and single-particle measurements, and that contributes to the deeper understanding of plasmonic graphene hybrids.