Visible light driven plasmonic photochemistry on nano-textured silver

Plasmon assisted generation of silver sulfate from dodecanethiol is demonstrated on a nano-textured silver substrate with a strong surface plasmon resonance in the visible range. The observed photo-physical processes are attributed to hot charge carriers that are generated from the excitation of surface plasmon resonances using 532 nm laser light. Excited charge carriers are responsible for cleaving the alkane chain, and for generating reactive oxygen species which rapidly photooxidize the exposed sulfur atoms. The ability to drive photochemical reactions with photon energies in the visible range rather than in the UV, on nano-textured silver surfaces, will enable researchers to study photochemical transformations for a wide variety of applications. The strong optical absorbance across the visible range, combined with the fact that the substrates can be fabricated over large areas, naturally makes them candidates for solar driven photochemical applications, and for large scale plasmonic reactors.