Nanostripe length dependence of plasmon-induced material deformations.

Following the impact of a single femtosecond light pulse on nickel nanostripes, material deformations-or "nanobumps"-are created. We have studied the dependence of these nanobumps on the length of nanostripes and verified the link with plasmons. More specifically, local electric currents can melt the nanostructures in the hotspots, where hydrodynamic processes give rise to nanobumps.

Charge-transfer state and large first hyperpolarizability constant in a highly electronically coupled zinc and gold porphyrin dyad.

We report the synthesis and the characterizations of a novel dyad composed of a zinc porphyrin (ZnP) linked to a gold porphyrin (AuP) through an ethynyl spacer. The UV/Vis absorption spectrum and the electrochemical properties clearly reveal that this dyad exhibits a strong electronic coupling in the ground state as evidenced by shifted redox potentials and the appearance of an intense charge-transfer band localized at lambda = 739 nm in dichloromethane. A spectroelectrochemical study of the dyad along with the parent homometallic system (i.