Plasmonic Nanostructures:  Artificial Molecules

This Account describes a new paradigm for the relationship between the geometry of metallic nanostructures and their optical properties. While the interaction of light with metallic nanoparticles is determined by their collective electronic or plasmon response, a compelling analogy exists between plasmon resonances of metallic nanoparticles and wave functions of simple atoms and molecules. Based on this insight, an entire family of plasmonic nanostructures, artificial molecules, has been developed whose optical properties can be understood within this picture: nanoparticles (nanoshells, nanoeggs, nanomatryushkas, nanorice), multi-nanoparticle assemblies (dimers, trimers, quadrumers), and a nanoparticle-over-metallic film, an electromagnetic analog of the spinless Anderson model.