Investigation of 2D nanomaterials on MXene (Ti3C2Tx)-based aluminum plasmonic devices for biosensing in the near-infrared region

Abstract

In this work, we have engineered Aluminum (Al)-based plasmonic devices with MXene (Ti3C2Tx) nanosheet to achieve both high sensitivities as well Figure of Merit (FOM) simultaneously for the wavelength of 1550 nm in the optical communication band. Since, studying 2D nanomaterials can provide quality collaboration for Ti3C2Tx, from their functionalization to application; Black Phosphorus, Graphene, fluorinated Graphene, and MoS2 are undertaken for this purpose. The effect of such 2D nanomaterials has been studied on both sensitivity and FOM for Ti3C2Tx-based engineered Al-plasmonic devices and a decent value of both sensitivity (119°/RIU) and FOM (340RIU−1) is achieved in the Kretschmann’s configuration. To demonstrate the bio-sensing application with the proposed plasmonic devices, the detection of protein solution concentration, based on the change in their refractive indices, is carried out. The proposed Ti3C2Tx-based Al-plasmonic devices show promising applications in the optical communication band, employing fluorinated graphene and MoS2 in the near-infrared region.