Surface-Plasmon-Driven Hot Electron Photochemistry

Visible-light-driven photochemistry has continued to attract heightened interest due to its capacity to efficiently harvest solar energy and its potential to solve the global energy crisis. Plasmonic nanostructures boast broadly tunable optical properties coupled with catalytically active surfaces that offer a unique opportunity for solar photochemistry. Resonant optical excitation of surface plasmons produces energetic hot electrons that can be collected to facilitate chemical reactions. This review sums up recent theoretical and experimental approaches for understanding the underlying photophysical processes in hot electron generation and discusses various electron-transfer models on both plasmonic metal…

• UO
  University of Florida
• DO
  Division of Materials Research

  Award: DMR-1352328
• DO
  Division of Chemistry

  Awards: CHE-1308644, CHE-1038015
• AF
  Air Force Office of Scientific Research

  Award: FA9550-14-1-0304