Combining metallic nanoparticles with host materials whose dielectric properties can be tuned by means of an external control is one route to create “active plasmonics”. In this hot article a soft-matter periodic structure made from a composite mixture of cholesteric liquid crystals and Au nanoparticles is reported. The cholesteric liquid crystals act as a “host fluid” whose refractive index can be varied in a broad range by using external electric fields and temperature variations. This has a strong influence on the position of the plasmonic absorption peak of the nanoparticles.
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