Plasmon assisted chemistry at the single particle level

GARGIULO, JULIÁN; PENSA, EVANGELINA; LAURI, ALBERTO; SCHLÜCKER, SEBASTIAN; MAIER, STEFAN A.; CORTÉS, EMILIANO

Workshop; Workshop on optical spectroscopy of new materials; 2019

Plasmon excitation in metal nanoparticles triggers the generation of highly energetic charge carriers that, when properly manipulated and exploited, can mediate chemical reactions. Single-particle techniques are key to unearthing the underlying mechanisms of hot-carrier generation, transport and injection, as well as to disentangling the role of the temperature increase and the enhanced near-field at the nanoparticle?molecule interface. Gaining nanoscopic insight into these processes and their interplay could aid in the rational design of plasmonic photocatalysts. Here, we use a combination of dark-field microscopy and photoelectrochemistry to track a hot-hole driven reaction on a single Au nanoparticle and we present a novel nanothermometry with single particle resolution.