Ascolta

Title: Mid infrared metasurfaces and metamaterials for microplastic sensing applications. 

Funding programme: PRIN 2022 PNRR Funded by the European Union - Next Generation EU EU – PNRR, Mission 4 “Education and Research” - Component C2 Investment 1.1 “Fund for the National Research Program and Projects of Significant National Interest (PRIN)”, Directorial Decree n. 1409 - 14 September 2022, Project code: P2022X4W28, CUP: B53D23028680001.

Scientific Coordinator: Prof. Roberto Macaluso (Università degli Studi di Palermo).

Research Units:

1. Università degli Studi di Palermo, Palermo.
2. Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Napoli.

Abstract: The project is focused on design, fabrication, and characterization of polar materials, such as MoO₃, subsequently microstructured through periodic or random patterns in order to excite surface phonon polaritons (SPhPs) and bound states in the continuum (BICs) in the mid infrared (6 – 20 micron), useful for the identification of organic molecules contained in microplastics dispersed in the environment. Dynamic control of phononic resonances will is also investigated by adding a phase change material (e.g. VO₂) film. Materials are synthesized by pulsed laser deposition (PLD), then characterised through XRD, SEM, AFM, Raman spectroscopy, and FTIR measurements. Metamaterials and metasurfaces are then realized according to tailored designs optimized for the excitation of SPhPs and BICs. The final goal of the project is the experimental realization of functionalized metastructures for the identification of organic molecules contained in microplastics dispersed in the environment.

Results so far achieved have been published in peer-reviewed journals and presented at National and International conferences:

Journal papers:

  - Alessandro Bile, Daniele Ceneda, Marco Centini, Federico Vittorio Lupo, Dominique Persano Adorno, Roberto Macaluso, Koray Aydin and Maria Cristina Larciprete, Thermo-optical properties of α-MoO3 thin films in the mid-infrared and phonon frequency shift, Journal of Physics: Photonics, 7, 025015 (2025). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1088/2515-7647/adbced

Conference papers:

- R. Macaluso, M. Mercurio, V. Mocella, K. Caicedo, V. Aglieri, A. Toma, D. Persano Adorno, M. C Larciprete, MoO₃-based metasurfaces for enhanced sensing in the mid-infrared, Australian and New Zealand Conference on Optics and Photonics (ANZCOP) 2025, 8 – 11 December 2025, Auckland (New Zealand), Paper PA-18.  https://www.anzcop25.ac.nz/files/2025/12/ANZCOP-Handbook-V5.pdf

https://hdl.handle.net/10447/695564

- R. Macaluso, M. Mercurio, M. P. Casaletto, D. Persano Adorno, M. C. Larciprete, Polaritonic properties of MoO₃thin films deposited on different substrates for mid-IR photonic devices, Australian and New Zealand Conference on Optics and Photonics (ANZCOP) 2025, 8 – 11 December 2025, Auckland (New Zealand), Paper PB-18.  https://www.anzcop25.ac.nz/files/2025/12/ANZCOP-Handbook-V5.pdf

https://hdl.handle.net/10447/695565

- R. Macaluso, F. V. Lupo, M. Mercurio, D. Ceneda, B. Megna, D. Persano Adorno, M. Mosca, I. Crupi, M. Centini and M. C. Larciprete, Molybdenum trioxide thin films for infrared Photonics, Proceedings of the 56^th Annual Meeting of the Associazione Società Italiana di Elettronica (SIE2025), June 25 – 27, 2025, Napoli (Italy), Paper ID: 114. https://iris.unipa.it/handle/10447/687185

- R. Macaluso, A. Bile, D. Ceneda, M. Centini, F. V. Lupo, D. Persano Adorno, K. Aydin, M. C. Larciprete, Mid-infrared thermo-optical properties of a-phase MoO₃thin films grown by pulsed laser deposition, OPTICS & PHOTONICS International Congress 2025, 21-25 April 2025, Yokohama, Japan. https://iris.unipa.it/handle/10447/679884

- A. Bile, D. Ceneda, M. Centini, F. V. Lupo, M. P. Casaletto, R. Macaluso, K. Aydin, M. C. Larciprete, Thermo-optical Properties of MoO3 thin films in the mid-infrared and phonon frequency shift, European Optical Society Annual Meeting (EOSAM)24, 9-13 September 2024, Napoli, Italy. https://iris.unipa.it/handle/10447/666663?mode=complete