Abstract Nanostructure-based localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) sensing have great potential for refractive index (RI) detection in the area of life science, chemical and food safety. Recently, the studies of aluminum (Al)-based nanostructures for sensing have attracted a large attention because aluminum is a cost-effective material and have excellent plasmonic characteristics from UV to near-infrared ranges. However, the fabrication of Al nanostructures used for sensing mainly focus on lithography techniques which are complex, expensive. Here, a facile method for the fabrication of hierarchical Al nanocap arrays used as LSPR sensing device was investigated. By only controlling the deposited Al thickness onto barrier layer surface of anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) template, the hierarchical Al nanocap arrays with tunable plasmonic wavelength ranging from 331 nm to 428 nm were obtained. The RI sensitivity of 80 nm hierarchical Al nanocap array is 358 nm/RIU and shows a good consistency with the FDTD simulation result. The concentration detection limit of adenine aqueous and ethanol solution are 1 × 10 − 6 M and 1 × 10 − 5 M , respectively. The results provide a new approach for developing an inexpensive, efficient, and mass-produced Al nanostructure sensor.

中文翻译：

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用于折射率传感的分层铝纳米帽阵列的轻松制造

摘要 基于纳米结构的局域表面等离子体共振 (LSPR) 传感在生命科学、化学和食品安全领域的折射率 (RI) 检测方面具有巨大潜力。最近，用于传感的铝（Al）基纳米结构的研究引起了广泛关注，因为铝是一种具有成本效益的材料，并且在从紫外到近红外范围内具有优异的等离子体特性。然而，用于传感的铝纳米结构的制造主要集中在复杂、昂贵的光刻技术上。在这里，研究了一种用于制造用作 LSPR 传感装置的分层 Al 纳米帽阵列的简便方法。通过仅控制阳极氧化铝 (AAO) 模板阻挡层表面上沉积的 Al 厚度，获得了具有可调谐等离子体波长范围从 331 nm 到 428 nm 的分层 Al 纳米帽阵列。80 nm 分层​​ Al 纳米帽阵列的 RI 灵敏度为 358 nm/RIU，与 FDTD 模拟结果具有良好的一致性。腺嘌呤水溶液和乙醇溶液的浓度检测限分别为 1 × 10 - 6 M 和 1 × 10 - 5 M 。该结果为开发廉价、高效和批量生产的铝纳米结构传感器提供了一种新方法。