Biosensors and Nanotheranostics
Bionanotechnology, Drug Delivery, Therapeutics | online ISSN 3064-7789
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Volume 5 Number 1 2026
REVIEWS (Open Access)
Light-Directed Nanocrystal Growth: Plasmon-Driven Synthesis of Anisotropic Metal Nanostructures
Lamiah Hossain 1*, Saina Depas 2, Annachiara Bazzoni 2
Biosensors and Nanotheranostics 5 (1) 1-8 https://doi.org/10.25163/biosensors.5110976
Submitted: 04 April 2026 Revised: 25 May 2026 Accepted: 05 June 2026 Published: 07 June 2026
Abstract
For most of the past two decades, the shape of a metal nanocrystal has been decided in the flask, by seeds, surfactants and the quiet arithmetic of surface energies. That picture is changing. A growing body of work shows that light, once used mainly to look at nanoparticles, can also tell them how to grow. This review brings that evidence together. We integrate 31 sources published between 2001 and 2026, covering colloidal, substrate-bound and hybrid systems, and extract the optical and chemical parameters that govern plasmon-driven growth. The picture that emerges is coherent, if not yet complete. Non-radiative plasmon decay produces hot electrons that reduce precursors preferentially at field hotspots, and hot holes that etch tips, strip ligands or drive particle coalescence; photothermal heat, by contrast, acts broadly and with little spatial selectivity. Wavelength appears to decide the outcome: interband excitation at 400 nm grows gold nanorods isotropically, whereas resonant excitation at 800 nm etches their tips and shifts the plasmon band by more than 130 nm. Ambient light alone can tip nucleation kinetics, so that dark-grown gold nanostars reach roughly 34% photothermal efficiency, about 45% higher than light-grown ones. Circularly polarized light imprints handedness on achiral seeds through a fast, then slow, galvanic sequence, provided the light-driven chemistry outpaces dark reactions. Substrate immobilization amplifies these effects. Persistent difficulties remain in separating carrier from thermal contributions, synchronizing kinetics and standardizing reporting. We close with a reproducibility checklist and suggest where the field might sensibly go next.
Keywords: plasmon-mediated synthesis; hot carriers; anisotropic nanostructures; light-imprinted chirality; circularly polarized light; galvanic replacement; photothermal conversion; substrate-bound growth
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