Oriented Gold Nanorod Arrays: Self-Assembly and Optoelectronic Applications

Self-assembly of anisotropic plasmonic nanomaterials into ordered superstructures has become popular in nanoscience because of their unique anisotropic optical and electronic properties. Gold nanorods (GNRs) are a well-defined functional building block for fabrication of these superstructures. They possess important anisotropic plasmonic characteristics that result from strong local electric field and are responsive to visible and near-IR light. There are recent examples of assembling the GNRs into ordered arrays or superstructures through processes such as solvent evaporation and interfacial assembly. In this Minireview, recent progress in the development of the self-assembled GNR arrays is described, with focus on the formation of oriented GNR arrays on substrates. Key driving forces are discussed, and different strategies and self-assembly processes of forming oriented GNR arrays are presented. The applications of the oriented GNR arrays in optoelectronic devices are also overviewed, especially surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS).