| Publication No: 3725 | Search all ORC publications |
Nonlinear optics of molecular nanostructures in solution: Assessment of the size and nonlinear optical properties
Vladislav I.Shcheslavskiya,b, Solomon M.Saltielc, Denis A.Ivanovd, Anatolii A.Ivanovd, Vladislav Y.Petruseviche, Georgi I.Petrove, Vladislav V.Yakovleve
a. Optoelectronics Research Centre, University of Southampton, UK
b. Laboratoire d'Optique Biomédicale, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
c. Faculty of Physics, Sofia University, 5 J. Bourchier Blvd, Sofia, BG-1164, Bulgaria
d. Photochemistry Center of Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow 117421, Russia
e. Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, P.O. Box 413, Milwaukee, WI 53201, USA
Abstract
Most of the known self-assembly processes occur in solution, where nanosized objects interact each other forming new structures. Their real-time characterization in terms of the size and optical properties of these objects is vital for understanding those interactions. We report a novel application of nonlinear optics to study molecular structures and assemblies. By measuring the power of the third harmonic generated in a solution of nanoparticles, we determined both the size and the third-order nonlinear optical susceptibility of those nanoparticles. The newly developed technique was successfully employed to observe the structural organization of collagen (type I) molecules in solution.
Chemical Physics Letters (2006) Vol.429(1-3) pp.294-298
doi: 10.1016/j.cplett.2006.07.071
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Copyright University of Southampton 2006