TY - JOUR
T1 - Thermally Robust Plasmonic Nanorings from Titanium Nitride
AU - Baami González, Xavier
AU - Leidinger, Paul Maurice
AU - Rente, Bruno
AU - Bower, Ryan
AU - Lauritsen, Jeppe V.
AU - Petrov, Peter K.
AU - Sutherland, Duncan S.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2025 The Authors. Published by American Chemical Society
PY - 2025/10/7
Y1 - 2025/10/7
N2 - Plasmonic nanostructures are widely utilized in fields such as chemical sensing, photothermal therapy, and optoelectronics due to their ability to confine and enhance electromagnetic fields at the nanoscale. Among these, nanorings offer unique advantages owing to their hollow-core geometry, which supports multiple plasmonic modes and enables efficient analyte access. However, conventional plasmonic materials such as gold, silver, or copper suffer from poor thermal stability due to either oxidation or morphological degradation, rendering them unsuitable for high temperatures or chemically harsh environments. In this study, we investigate titanium nitride (TiN) as a robust alternative for the fabrication of thermally stable plasmonic nanorings. TiN combines metallic optical behavior in the visible to near-infrared range with excellent thermal, mechanical, and chemical stability, making it particularly suitable for harsh-environment sensing applications. Using Hole-mask Colloidal Lithography (HCL), a scalable and cost-effective bottom-up technique, we successfully fabricate well-defined TiN nanorings over large substrate areas. We further evaluated their structural and spectral resilience through annealing experiments conducted up to 400 °C in air. The results demonstrate that TiN nanorings maintain their morphology and localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) characteristics under elevated temperatures, in stark contrast to their noble-metal counterparts. This work establishes a reproducible, scalable route for producing refractory plasmonic nanostructures and highlights the potential of TiN nanorings for robust operation in high-temperature sensing platforms.
AB - Plasmonic nanostructures are widely utilized in fields such as chemical sensing, photothermal therapy, and optoelectronics due to their ability to confine and enhance electromagnetic fields at the nanoscale. Among these, nanorings offer unique advantages owing to their hollow-core geometry, which supports multiple plasmonic modes and enables efficient analyte access. However, conventional plasmonic materials such as gold, silver, or copper suffer from poor thermal stability due to either oxidation or morphological degradation, rendering them unsuitable for high temperatures or chemically harsh environments. In this study, we investigate titanium nitride (TiN) as a robust alternative for the fabrication of thermally stable plasmonic nanorings. TiN combines metallic optical behavior in the visible to near-infrared range with excellent thermal, mechanical, and chemical stability, making it particularly suitable for harsh-environment sensing applications. Using Hole-mask Colloidal Lithography (HCL), a scalable and cost-effective bottom-up technique, we successfully fabricate well-defined TiN nanorings over large substrate areas. We further evaluated their structural and spectral resilience through annealing experiments conducted up to 400 °C in air. The results demonstrate that TiN nanorings maintain their morphology and localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) characteristics under elevated temperatures, in stark contrast to their noble-metal counterparts. This work establishes a reproducible, scalable route for producing refractory plasmonic nanostructures and highlights the potential of TiN nanorings for robust operation in high-temperature sensing platforms.
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105018476395
U2 - 10.1021/acsomega.5c08679
DO - 10.1021/acsomega.5c08679
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 41078764
AN - SCOPUS:105018476395
SN - 2470-1343
VL - 10
SP - 46176
EP - 46187
JO - ACS Omega
JF - ACS Omega
IS - 39
ER -