Plasmonic-Enhanced Catalysis

Abstract : Various aspects of plasmonic catalysis, including plasmon enhanced catalysis, plasmonic sensing of catalysis and surface plasmon driven hot electron flow were explored. Light trapping from nanostructured Au nanopillars and their surface plasmon enhanced the photocurrent of an iron oxide photoanode by more than 50% across the solar spectrum. Two platforms for in situ plasmon enhanced spectroscopy of catalytic intermediates were demonstrated. Firstly, single particle hydrogen storage trajectories were monitored by recording the scattering associated with the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) of Au antennas. Shape dependent hydrogen storage trajectories of Pd nanoparticles that would be lost by ensemble averaging were observed. Secondly, new Ag-alumina hybrid platforms for reproducible surface enhanced raman spectroscopy (SERS) measurements were fabricated. The photooxidation of water on titiania was shown to occur by nucleophilic attack. These plasmon enhanced sensing schemes enable catalytic intermediates that are spectroscopically silent or weak to be monitored.