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Hot Electron Driven Photocatalysis on Plasmon-Resonant Grating Nanostructures
Yu Wang, Indu Aravind, Zhi Cai
1Department of Physics, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut 06269, United States.
ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces
|March 28, 2020
Summary
We demonstrate enhanced hot electron injection in silver (Ag) plasmon resonant gratings. This plasmonic effect significantly boosts photocurrent, showing up to a 44-fold enhancement for specific light wavelengths and angles.
Area of Science:
- Plasmonics
- Photocatalysis
- Nanotechnology
Background:
- Plasmon resonance in metallic nanostructures enables enhanced light-matter interactions.
- Hot electron injection is a key mechanism for photocatalytic and photovoltaic applications.
- Controlling plasmonic excitation is crucial for optimizing energy conversion.
Purpose of the Study:
- To demonstrate and quantify hot electron injection efficiency in Ag-based plasmon resonant gratings.
- To investigate the influence of incident angle and light polarization on plasmon resonance.
- To compare plasmon-enhanced photocurrent with bulk metal interband absorption.
Main Methods:
- Fabrication of Ag-based plasmon resonant grating structures.
- Angle-dependent reflectance spectroscopy with p- and s-polarized light.
- Photoelectrochemical measurements to quantify photocurrent.
- Finite Difference Time Domain (FDTD) simulations for electric field analysis.
Main Results:
- Sharp dips in reflectance observed for p-polarized light due to wavevector matching with plasmon modes.
- Significant photocurrent enhancement (12-fold at 633 nm, 44-fold at 785 nm) at resonant angles.
- Observation of higher-order plasmon modes at shorter wavelengths (532 nm) with substantial enhancement.
- FDTD simulations confirmed experimental observations and provided detailed electric field profiles.
Conclusions:
- Ag plasmon resonant gratings effectively enhance hot electron injection for photocatalysis.
- Photocurrent enhancement is strongly dependent on incident angle, polarization, and wavelength.
- Interband transitions at shorter wavelengths can dampen plasmon resonance, affecting enhancement factors.
