Educational model of a plasmonic nanorod

This is an educational model of a crystalline metal (Au, Ag) nanorod, which is in reality only a few nanometers in size. These nanoparticles are used for various applications in energy and healthcare research because they interact very strongly with red to near-infrared light and can be used, for example, for locally generated heat or for enhancing the “sensing” of surroundings molecules. 

The model was made in Blender by creating a crystal lattice using the array modifier and then cutting out the nanorod shape using geometry nodes. The printing time can be rather long because a small portion of the inner atoms is also printed. I recommend scaling the nanorod to a large enough size so that all the fine detail can be seen. To prevent the use of supports, you can cut the model in half in the slicer and glue two prints together.