Abstract: Plasmon-mediated photocatalysis via hot-electron transfer attracts increasing  interest due to its capability to improve energy utilization efficiency.  However, more insightful information is still needed to reveal the mechanism of  interfacial hot-electron transfer. Herein, the plasmon-induced hot-electron  transfer at different plasmonic interfaces, including Au-insulator  (SiO₂), Au-semiconductor (TiO₂ and Cu₂O), and  Au-metal (Pd and Pt), is directly investigated using surface-enhanced Raman  spectroscopy (SERS) and density functional theory calculation with a  (sub)nanometer spatial resolution, through the fabrication of well-defined  plasmonic nanostructures. (Sub)nanometer-distance dependence of interfacial  hot-electron transfer has been identified for the first time. Hot electrons can  migrate across the Au-semiconductor or Au-metal interfaces and transfer more  than 10 nm in semiconductors but decay to thermally equilibrated states rapidly  in metals in less than 1 nm. Such a transfer process is blocked at the  Au-insulator interface. This work promotes the fundamental understanding of  plasmon-induced hot-electron transmission and photocatalysis at plasmonic interfaces.

Source: https://pcoss.xmu.edu.cn/en/info/1095/1841.htm