Optical and electrical probing of plasmonic metal-molecule interactions

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Hauptverfasser: Stefancu, Andrei, Tang, Wenxuan, Fu, Ming, Edwards, Jordan, Halas, Naomi J., Schofield, Ross C., Millard, Toby Severs, Nordlander, Peter, Lischner, Johannes, Carro, Pilar, Oulton, Rupert, Cortes, Emiliano
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Veröffentlicht: 2025
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author Stefancu, Andrei
Tang, Wenxuan
Fu, Ming
Edwards, Jordan
Halas, Naomi J.
Schofield, Ross C.
Millard, Toby Severs
Nordlander, Peter
Lischner, Johannes
Carro, Pilar
Oulton, Rupert
Cortes, Emiliano
author_facet Stefancu, Andrei
Tang, Wenxuan
Fu, Ming
Edwards, Jordan
Halas, Naomi J.
Schofield, Ross C.
Millard, Toby Severs
Nordlander, Peter
Lischner, Johannes
Carro, Pilar
Oulton, Rupert
Cortes, Emiliano
contents Plasmonic nanostructures enable efficient light-to-energy conversion by concentrating optical energy into nanoscale volumes. A key mechanism in this process is chemical interface damping (CID), where surface plasmons are damped by adsorbed molecules, enabling the transfer of charge to adsorbed molecules. In this study, we investigate the relationship between CID and adsorbate-induced changes in DC electrical resistivity for four molecular adsorbates-adenine, 4-aminothiophenol (ATP), biphenyl thiol (BPT), and 1-dodecanethiol (DDT)-on gold surfaces. Our results reveal two distinct CID regimes. BPT causes CID via direct electronic transitions to the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO), which is centered at approx. 2 eV above the Fermi level and can be resonantly excited by the plasmon. This mechanism is dependent on plasmon energy. In contrast, ATP, adenine and DDT lead to plasmon damping through inelastic electron scattering at the metal-molecule interface. This regime shows a weaker dependency on plasmon energy since it does not involve resonant electron excitation between hybridized metal-molecule states. This same mechanism contributes to adsorbate-induced changes in DC resistivity, suggesting that resistivity measurements can serve as a probe of plasmonic energy transfer, as highlighted by the good correlation between the two effects. These findings provide new insights into the microscopic origins of plasmon damping and offer a unified framework for understanding metal-adsorbate energy transfer.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2507_12128
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Optical and electrical probing of plasmonic metal-molecule interactions
Stefancu, Andrei
Tang, Wenxuan
Fu, Ming
Edwards, Jordan
Halas, Naomi J.
Schofield, Ross C.
Millard, Toby Severs
Nordlander, Peter
Lischner, Johannes
Carro, Pilar
Oulton, Rupert
Cortes, Emiliano
Optics
Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics
Plasmonic nanostructures enable efficient light-to-energy conversion by concentrating optical energy into nanoscale volumes. A key mechanism in this process is chemical interface damping (CID), where surface plasmons are damped by adsorbed molecules, enabling the transfer of charge to adsorbed molecules. In this study, we investigate the relationship between CID and adsorbate-induced changes in DC electrical resistivity for four molecular adsorbates-adenine, 4-aminothiophenol (ATP), biphenyl thiol (BPT), and 1-dodecanethiol (DDT)-on gold surfaces. Our results reveal two distinct CID regimes. BPT causes CID via direct electronic transitions to the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO), which is centered at approx. 2 eV above the Fermi level and can be resonantly excited by the plasmon. This mechanism is dependent on plasmon energy. In contrast, ATP, adenine and DDT lead to plasmon damping through inelastic electron scattering at the metal-molecule interface. This regime shows a weaker dependency on plasmon energy since it does not involve resonant electron excitation between hybridized metal-molecule states. This same mechanism contributes to adsorbate-induced changes in DC resistivity, suggesting that resistivity measurements can serve as a probe of plasmonic energy transfer, as highlighted by the good correlation between the two effects. These findings provide new insights into the microscopic origins of plasmon damping and offer a unified framework for understanding metal-adsorbate energy transfer.
title Optical and electrical probing of plasmonic metal-molecule interactions
topic Optics
Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2507.12128