Project description
Study throws more light on hot-carrier generation in plasmonic materials
Despite their tiny size, metal nanoparticles absorb and scatter light with extraordinary efficiency. This is mainly due to localised surface plasmon resonances, a phenomenon generated by light waves being trapped within metal nanoparticles. These collective plasmon modes do not live long. During their decay, they generate high-energy electrons and holes. The study of these so-called hot carriers holds ramifications for photovoltaics, photocatalysis or photodetection applications. Funded by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Action programme, the researchers of the EU-funded RealNanoPlasmon project developed first-principles methods for addressing plasmonic hot-carrier generation with atomistic resolution. These methods should shed more light on atomi c-scale effects, which have been largely unexplored in approximative model-based approaches.
Objective
Metal nanoparticles absorb and scatter light much more than their physical size would suggest. This is caused by localized surface plasmon resonances formed upon light illumination in the nanoparticle. The plasmon resonances are characterized by collective oscillations of free electrons in the particle, but soon after its formation, typically on a femtosecond timescale, the collective plasmon mode decays via emission or via non-radiative creation of electron-hole pairs. As a result of the latter decay mechanism, high-energy electrons and holes, so-called hot carriers, are left behind. When these plasmon-induced hot carriers escape from the nanoparticle to the environment, or are induced there directly, they can be utilized for multitude of applications, such as photovoltaics, photocatalysis, or photodetection.
Similarly to the plasmon resonance, the distribution of plasmon-generated hot carriers is highly dependent on the size, shape, and composition of the nanoparticle. In recent years, atomic-scale effects on plasmon resonances have become increasingly scrutinized theoretically and computationally along with sophisticated experimental techniques. Despite this development, for plasmonic hot-carrier generation the bulk of the present understanding is based on model systems or approximative methods neglecting the underlying atomic structure. The aim of this project is to develop first-principles methods for addressing plasmonic hot-carrier generation by fully accounting for the atomic structure and elemental distribution, and shed light on atomic-scale effects on hot-carrier generation by virtue of the developed methods.
Fields of science
Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)Coordinator
412 96 GOTEBORG
Sweden