Patterning of supported gold monolayers via chemical lift-off lithography
The supported monolayer of Au that accompanies alkanethiolate molecules removed by polymer stamps during chemical lift-off lithography is a scarcely studied hybrid material. We show that these Au–alkanethiolate layers on poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) are transparent, functional, hybrid interfaces that can be patterned over nanometer, micrometer, and millimeter length scales. Unlike other ultrathin Au films and nanoparticles, lifted-off Au–alkanethiolate thin films lack a measurable optical signature. We therefore devised fabrication, characterization, and simulation strategies by which to interrogate the nanoscale structure, chemical functionality, stoichiometry, and spectral signature of t…
Particle Plasmons as Dipole Antennas: State Representation of Relative Observables
The strong interactions between light and plasmons (in metal nanoparticles) allow to observe chemical and physical processes on and around the particle on nanometer length scales as well as they al...
Interfacial States Cause Equal Decay of Plasmons and Hot Electrons at Gold-Metal Oxide Interfaces.
We compare the decay of plasmons and "conventional" hot electrons within the same series of gold/metal oxide interfaces. We found an accelerated decay of hot electrons at gold-metal oxide interfaces with decreasing band gap of the oxide material. The decay is accelerated by the increased phase space for electron scattering caused by additional interfacial states. Since plasmons decay faster within the same series of gold-metal oxide interfaces, we propose plasmons are able to decay into the same interfacial states as hot electrons. The similarity of plasmon damping to conventional hot electron decay implies that many classical surface analysis techniques and theoretical concepts are transfe…
Plasmon damping depends on the chemical nature of the nanoparticle interface
Damping of gold nanorod plasmons by surface-adsorbed molecules is best explained by scattering off adsorbate-induced dipoles.
Chemical Interface Damping Depends on Electrons Reaching the Surface.
Metallic nanoparticles show extraordinary strong light absorption near their plasmon resonance, orders of magnitude larger compared to nonmetallic nanoparticles. This "antenna" effect has recently been exploited to transfer electrons into empty states of an attached material, for example to create electric currents in photovoltaic devices or to induce chemical reactions. It is generally assumed that plasmons decay into hot electrons, which then transfer to the attached material. Ultrafast electron-electron scattering reduces the lifetime of hot electrons drastically in metals and therefore strongly limits the efficiency of plasmon induced hot electron transfer. However, recent work has revi…