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Simulating the Optical Properties of Copper(I) Oxide Nanocubes in Monolayer Films and with Structural Alterations

CSEF · 2026 Physics & Astronomy (Senior Division)

Lucy Huang

Overview

Copper(I) oxide (Cu2O) semiconductor nanocrystals (NCs) exhibit distinct plasmonic modes in the visible and near-infrared regions of the electromagnetic spectrum and have diverse applications in photocatalysis, solar cells, and optoelectronics. Our lab has been developing unique nanoparticle shapes based on cubes, such as those with etched faces and those where multiple cubes are merged into cubic intersectional structures (CISs). Currently, the optical properties of these novel structures are unknown. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images demonstrate the CISs have complex intersections and may lack mirror symmetry which suggests that chiral optical absorption is possible. This study looks at the optical properties of colloidal Cu2O CISs and monolayers of Cu2O nanocubes on top of a Au substrate. Here, various Cu2O CISs are designed on Autodesk Inventor and imported into the finite difference time domain (FDTD) solver, Ansys Lumerical, where linearly polarized light is used to measure the absorption, scattering, and extinction, as well as left-hand and right-hand polarized light for circular dichroism spectra. For CISs, we change the intersection variation, specifically two cubes merged into one and one etched cube with growing cubes from the sides. For the Cu2O cubes on top of a substrate, we alter the interparticle gap distance in order to understand reflection, absorption, and near field characteristics. Together, these results will expand current understanding of the optical properties of Cu2O nanocrystals for use in optoelectronics and as optical elements like diffraction gratings and filters.

Competition history

  • CSEF 2026 Physics & Astronomy (Senior Division) · Entry S-17-10

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