Emerging Frontiers in Plasmonics: Nanostructured Materials for Solar Energy Conversion and Catalysis

Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) occurs when nanostructured metals are illuminated with an electromagnetic field that causes a collective oscillation of the conduction electrons in the material. More importantly, the SPR can decay into a hot-electron and hole pair that can be separated along an interface to drive useful chemical or electrical work. The conversion of solar energy to electricity or to fuels based on electron-hole pair separation in semiconductors is a well-established scientific field, and the use of plasmonics is poised to introduce an entirely new precedent in photoconversion processes. Because gold has a SPR that lies within the visible light spectrum, we are able to harness the sun’s energy to generate charge carriers that can either be transferred to a neighboring semiconductor or directly to a catalyst. 

In this talk, I will be giving a brief introduction to surface plasmons, as well as highlighting our current research efforts in using surface plasmons for both solar energy conversion and catalytic processes.