Plasmon metals

When the size of metals is comparable or smaller than the electron mean free path, for example in metal nanoparticles, then the motion of electrons becomes limited by the size of the nanoparticle and interactions are expected to be mostly with the surface. This gives rise to surface plasmon resonance effects, in which the optical properties are determined by the collective oscillation of conduction electrons resulting from the interaction with light. Plasmonic metal nanoparticles and nanostructures are known to absorb light strongly, but they typically are not or only weakly luminescent [22-24]. 

Murphy CJ, Sau TK, Gole A, Orendorff CJ (2005) Surfactant-directed synthesis and optical properties of one-dimensional plasmonic metallic nanostructures. MRS Bull 30 349-355... 

Nano-objects made out of noble metal atoms have proved to present specific physicochemical properties linked to their dimensions. In metal nanoparticles, collective modes of motion of the electron gas can be excited. They are referred to as surface plasmons. Metal nanoparticles exhibit surface plasmon spectra which depend not only on the metal itself and on its environment, but also on the size and the shape of the particles. Pulse radiolysis experiments enabled to follow the evolution of the absorption spectrum during the growth process of metal clusters. Inversely, this spectral signature made it possible to estimate the metal nanoparticles size and shape as a function of the dose in steady-state radiolysis. 

What emerges from the rigorous theoretical treatment in the previous section is that the Plasmon / metal interface plays several roles in the enhancement. Thus the measured fluorescence intensity in the presence of plasmon supporting metal nanoparticle is modified to ... 

G6rard, D., Wenger, J., Bonod, N., Popov, E., Rigneault, H., Mahdavi, F., Blair, S., Dintinger, J., and Ebbesen, T. W. (2008). Nanoaperture-enhanced fluorescence Towards higher detection rates with plasmonic metals. Phys. Rev. B 77 045413. 

S. Zou, L. Zhao and G.C. Schatz, SPIE Proc., Plasmonics Metallic nanostructures and their optical... 

Linic, S., Christopher, P., Ingram, D.B., 2011. Plasmonic-metal nanostructures for efficient conversion of solar to chemical energy. Nat. Mater. 10, 911—921. 

Plasmon mediated electron transfer involving direct injection of the hot electrons from plasmonic-metal nanoparticles to close-lying semiconductors has been demonstrated in devices where Au nanoparticles were anchored on a Ti02 nanowires scaffold. Such hot electrons exhibit a lifetime 1 to 2 orders of magnitude longer than those excited within the nanowires themselves. Advancement in this direction is of fundamental significance because it makes possible photochemical reactions at the semiconductor surface against electron/hole recombination. ... 

Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) is a highly sensitive optical detection technique in which lasers are used to excite vibrational transitions in a molecule adsorbed on or close to a nanostructured plasmonic metal surface. As a result of large optical fields due to the excitation of plasmonic resonances, the Raman cross section for a molecule on a surface is enhanced by factors of... 

The application of plasmonic metal nanostructures to water photoelectrolysis is an intriguing and potentially rich area for future exploration. By providing several general mechanisms to alter the traditional e"° absorption profile in semiconductors, the construction of new design rules for water photoelectrolysis devices is possible. 

Nordlander, P. Prodan, E. Electronic structure and optical properties of metallic nanoshells. In Plasmonics Metallic Nanostructures and their Optical Properties, Halas,... 

Ingram DB, Linic S, (2011) Wato splitting on composite plasmonic-metal/semiconductOT photoelectrodes evidence for selective plasmon-induced formation of charge carriers near the semiconductor Surface. J Am Chem Soc 133 5202... 

In addition to that of aluminum, the dielectric function of indium is also shown in Fig. 8.1 [10, 11]. Indium behaves as a plasmonic metal at wavelengths down to 170 nm. The imaginary part of the dielectric function is reasonably small, similar to that of aluminum. DUV-SERS using indium has been also demonstrated [17]. 

Keywords Polymer, Light Trapping, Surface Plasmons, Metallic Nanoparticles, Solar Cells. 

TNTA/Plasmonic Metal or Metal Cluster Nanocomposites... 

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