Plasmonic photocatalysis uses the light-induced resonant oscillation of free electrons in a metal nanoparticle to concentrate optical energy for driving chemical reactions. By altering the joint electronic structure of the catalyst and reactants, plasmonic catalysis enables reaction pathways with improved selectivity, activity, and catalyst stability. However, designing an optimal catalyst still requires a fundamental understanding of the underlying plasmonic mechanisms at the spatial scales of single particles, at the temporal scales of electron transfer, and in conditions analogous to those under which real reactions will operate. Thus, in this review, we provide an overview of several of the available and developing nanoscale and ultrafast experimental approaches, emphasizing those that can be performed in situ. Specifically, we discuss high spatial resolution optical, tip-based, and electron microscopy techniques; high temporal resolution optical and x-ray techniques; and emerging ultrafast optical, x-ray, tip-based, and electron microscopy techniques that simultaneously achieve high spatial and temporal resolution. Ab initio and classical continuum theoretical models play an essential role in guiding and interpreting experimental exploration, and thus, these are also reviewed and several notable theoretical insights are discussed.
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December 2023
Review Article|
December 01 2023
Nanoscale and ultrafast in situ techniques to probe plasmon photocatalysis
Claire C. Carlin
;
Claire C. Carlin
(Conceptualization, Project administration, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing)
1
Department of Applied Physics, Stanford University
, Stanford, California 94305, USA
2
Center for Adopting Flaws as Features, Rice University
, Houston, Texas 77005, USA
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Alan X. Dai
;
Alan X. Dai
(Conceptualization, Project administration, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing)
3
Department of Chemical Engineering, Stanford University
, Stanford, California 94305, USA
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Alexander Al-Zubeidi
;
Alexander Al-Zubeidi
(Conceptualization, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing)
2
Center for Adopting Flaws as Features, Rice University
, Houston, Texas 77005, USA
4
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Stanford University
, Stanford, California 94305, USA
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Emma M. Simmerman
;
Emma M. Simmerman
(Conceptualization, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing)
1
Department of Applied Physics, Stanford University
, Stanford, California 94305, USA
4
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Stanford University
, Stanford, California 94305, USA
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Hyuncheol Oh
;
Hyuncheol Oh
(Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing)
2
Center for Adopting Flaws as Features, Rice University
, Houston, Texas 77005, USA
5
Department of Chemistry, Rice University
, Houston, Texas 77005, USA
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Niklas Gross
;
Niklas Gross
(Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing)
2
Center for Adopting Flaws as Features, Rice University
, Houston, Texas 77005, USA
5
Department of Chemistry, Rice University
, Houston, Texas 77005, USA
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Stephen A. Lee
;
Stephen A. Lee
(Writing – review & editing)
2
Center for Adopting Flaws as Features, Rice University
, Houston, Texas 77005, USA
5
Department of Chemistry, Rice University
, Houston, Texas 77005, USA
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Stephan Link
;
Stephan Link
(Funding acquisition, Supervision, Writing – review & editing)
2
Center for Adopting Flaws as Features, Rice University
, Houston, Texas 77005, USA
5
Department of Chemistry, Rice University
, Houston, Texas 77005, USA
6
Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Rice University
, Houston, Texas 77005, USA
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Christy F. Landes
;
Christy F. Landes
(Funding acquisition, Supervision, Writing – review & editing)
2
Center for Adopting Flaws as Features, Rice University
, Houston, Texas 77005, USA
5
Department of Chemistry, Rice University
, Houston, Texas 77005, USA
6
Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Rice University
, Houston, Texas 77005, USA
7
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Rice University
, Houston, Texas 77005, USA
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Felipe H. da Jornada
;
Felipe H. da Jornada
(Funding acquisition, Supervision, Writing – review & editing)
4
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Stanford University
, Stanford, California 94305, USA
8
Stanford PULSE Institute, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory
, Menlo Park, California 94025, USA
9
Stanford Institute for Materials and Energy Sciences, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory
, Menlo Park, California 94025, USA
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Jennifer A. Dionne
Jennifer A. Dionne
a)
(Conceptualization, Funding acquisition, Project administration, Supervision, Writing – review & editing)
1
Department of Applied Physics, Stanford University
, Stanford, California 94305, USA
2
Center for Adopting Flaws as Features, Rice University
, Houston, Texas 77005, USA
4
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Stanford University
, Stanford, California 94305, USA
10
Department of Radiology, Stanford University
, Stanford, California 94305, USA
a)Author to whom correspondence should be addressed: jdionne@stanford.edu
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a)Author to whom correspondence should be addressed: jdionne@stanford.edu
Chem. Phys. Rev. 4, 041309 (2023)
Article history
Received:
June 16 2023
Accepted:
October 24 2023
Citation
Claire C. Carlin, Alan X. Dai, Alexander Al-Zubeidi, Emma M. Simmerman, Hyuncheol Oh, Niklas Gross, Stephen A. Lee, Stephan Link, Christy F. Landes, Felipe H. da Jornada, Jennifer A. Dionne; Nanoscale and ultrafast in situ techniques to probe plasmon photocatalysis. Chem. Phys. Rev. 1 December 2023; 4 (4): 041309. https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0163354
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