  Near-perfect absorbers (NPAs) efficiently absorb visible light with a layered
nanostructure that is thinner than the diffusion lengths of photogenerated
charge carriers. We overcame existing limitations in fabricating their
nanoparticulate surface by depositing \textit{plasmene}, a tightly-packed
two-dimensional lattice of metal nanoparticles formed through self-assembly.
The plasmene NPAs absorb up to 98\% of incident visible light, with modelling
showing the improvement on existing NPAs arises from the structural ordering of
the plasmene. We also demonstrate control of NPAs' absorption profile through
the use of anisotropic building blocks in plasmene. These property enhancements
may broaden the application of NPAs to structural colour, sensing and
photocatalysis.
