Nonlocal Soft Plasmonics in Planar Homogeneous Multilayers
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
This paper presents a study on the plasmonic response using electrolytes that induces resonant charge oscillations in ions in solution. The authors demonstrate the occurrence of plasmonic phenomena not only at metal/dielectric interfaces but also at planar electrolyte-dielectric interfaces. These findings have the potential to expand the scope of plasmonics into the realm of soft matter, offering a range of exciting new possibilities. Given its significance, I believe this paper will be of great interest to many readers, and I recommend its publication with minor revisions based on the following suggestions.
1. Figure 2 is derived from the dielectric function of the Drude model for both gold and water. However, gold (Au) exhibits electronic transitions within the visible range and is more accurately described by a dielectric function that incorporates not only the Drude model but also the Lorentz terms, significantly influencing the results. Similarly, water exhibits various phenomena of dielectric relaxations across different wavelength ranges, significantly impacting the dielectric function. Therefore, if the dielectric function is defined solely by the parameters listed in Table 1, it may differ significantly from the actual system. The authors should address this potential discrepancy in their discussion.
2. Figure 3 depicts the dispersion relationship calculated for the Au-water interface and for ionized water confined within a neutral water slab with a thickness of d = 2.5 mm. I find it challenging to envision how ionized water can be confined within neutral water. What type of system do the authors have in mind? If they are considering a liquid-liquid interface, such an interface would inherently be wavy and unstable, leading to fluctuating optical properties that are likely unusable.
3. Even if a solid-liquid interface were employed, it would be anticipated to be more fluid and less stable in terms of optical properties than the solid interface commonly used in conventional plasmonics. In light of these challenges, what are the advantages of utilizing soft materials like electrolytes for plasmonics? The authors argue that extending plasmonics towards soft matter can bridge soft and hard matter regimes with potential applications in biology and chemistry. However, this sentence remains somewhat unclear. Could the authors provide specific examples of potential applications in biology and chemistry that become feasible through this approach?
Author Response
Please see the attachment
Author Response File: 
Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 2 Report
In this paper, the authors investigated the non local plasmon response at the planar electrolyte dielectric interface and compared it with the local response approximation of classical electrodynamics. I believe that publication of the manuscript may be considered only after the following issues have been resolved.
1.Is the thickness indicated in Fig. 3(b) consistent with those in Fig. 5 and Fig. 6?
2.Please check ,if there is any issue with the reference to "blue curves" in Fig. 3?
3.
is used here to describe multiple reflexes that are not good. Please change the expression?
4.Please provide a brief description of the role of ABC boundary conditions?
5.Please check the content statement regarding The absorption reaching zero can additionally be seen in Fig. 2 (c).
6.Please carefully check the formula.
7. The introduction can be improved. The articles related to some applications of Nanoplasmonics should be added such as Results in Physics 48, 2023, 106420; Micromachines 2023, 14, 953; Optics Express, 30(20), 35554-35566, 2022; Electronics 2023, 12(12), 2655.
8. The abstract of the article needs to be re edited, highlighting one's own work, and the background section needs to be streamlined.
Minor editing of English language required
Author Response
Please see the attachment
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Round 2
Reviewer 2 Report
Accept in present form
