Plasmon-assisted chemistry

金属纳米结构通过局部表面等离子体激元形成电磁场热点，彻底改变了我们在纳米尺度上控制光的能力。等离子体已经发展成为跨学科纳米科学中最令人兴奋的领域之一，影响着光是重要成分的所有科学和技术领域，从生物传感到光电子学和量子光学。然而，到目前为止，大多数研究都只集中在表面等离子体的纳米级光限制方面，忽略了所涉及的电荷载流子。在这里，我们想挑战这一点，通过等离子体纳米结构的概念的发展，作为一种手段，通过特定于位点的控制电荷转移，创造纳米级的化学反应热点。这将深刻地影响纳米光子学、光子学和纳米化学的进一步发展。表面等离子体在超快时间尺度上衰变为热载流子，我们希望建立将其控制提取到所需纳米尺度体积的方法。这将使纳米级，位点选择性表面化学和催化的发展具有高效率。我们将开发反应性的空间映射方法，并开发一个物理工具包来控制。

Metallic nanostructures have revolutionized our ability to control light on the nanoscale, via the formation of electromagnetic field hot spots due to localized surface plasmons. Plasmonics has developed into one of the most exciting areas of interdisciplinary nanoscience, affecting all areas of science and technology where light is a prominent ingredient, from biosensing to optoelectronics and quantum optics. However, up to this point most research has exclusively focused on the nanoscale light confinement aspect of surface plasmons, neglecting the charge carriers involved. Here, we want to challenge this, via the development of the notion of a plasmonic nanostructure as a means to create nanoscale hot spots of chemical reactivity via site-specific control of charge transfer. This will profoundly impact the further development of nanophotonics, photocatalysis, and nanochemistry.Surface plasmons decay on ultrafast time scales into hot carriers, and we want to establish means for their controlled extraction into desired nanoscale volumes. This will enable the development of nanoscale, site-selective surface chemistry and catalysis with high efficiency. We will develop methodologies for the spatial mapping of reactivity, and develop a physical tool kit to its control.