Spectroscopic signatures of plasmon-induced charge transfer in gold nanorods

Plasmon-induced charge transfer has been studied for the development of plasmonic photodiodes and solar cells. There are two mechanisms by which a plasmonic nanoparticle can transfer charge to an adjacent material: indirect transfer following plasmon decay and direct transfer as a way of plasmon decay. Using single-particle dark-field scattering and photoluminescence imaging and spectroscopy of gold nanorods on various substrates, we identify linewidth broadening and photoluminescence quantum yield quenching as key spectroscopic signatures that are quantitatively related to plasmon-induced interfacial charge transfer. We find that dark-field scattering linewidth broadening is due to chemical interface damping through direct charge injection via plasmon decay. The photoluminescence quantum yield quenching reveals additional mechanistic insight into electron–hole recombination as well as plasmon generation and decay within the gold nanorods. Through these two spectroscopic signatures, we identify charge transfer mechanisms at TiO₂ and indium doped tin oxide interfaces and uncover material parameters contributing to plasmon-induced charge transfer efficiency, such as barrier height and resonance energy.