Controllable plasmon-induced catalytic reaction by surface-enhanced and tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy

Yanqi Liu; Yan Zhao; Lisheng Zhang; Yinzhou Yan; Yijian Jiang

doi:10.1016/j.saa.2019.04.086

Controllable plasmon-induced catalytic reaction by surface-enhanced and tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy

Spectrochim Acta A Mol Biomol Spectrosc. 2019 Aug 5:219:539-546. doi: 10.1016/j.saa.2019.04.086. Epub 2019 May 1.

Authors

Yanqi Liu¹, Yan Zhao², Lisheng Zhang³, Yinzhou Yan¹, Yijian Jiang¹

Affiliations

¹ Beijing Engineering Research Center of Laser Technology, Institute of Laser Engineering, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, China; Key Laboratory of Trans-scale Laser Manufacturing Technology, Ministry of Education, Institute of Laser Engineering, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, China.
² Beijing Engineering Research Center of Laser Technology, Institute of Laser Engineering, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, China; Key Laboratory of Trans-scale Laser Manufacturing Technology, Ministry of Education, Institute of Laser Engineering, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, China. Electronic address: zhaoyan@bjut.edu.cn.
³ The Beijing Key Laboratory for Nano-photonics and Nano-structure, Department of Physics, Capital Normal University, Beijing 100048, China.

PMID: 31078821
DOI: 10.1016/j.saa.2019.04.086

Abstract

The controllable catalytic reaction plays a pivotal role in heterogeneous catalysis. Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) and tip enhanced Raman spectroscopy (TERS) are considered promising techniques for the study of catalytic reactions due to the highly localized sensitivity of SERS and the nanoscale spatial resolution of TERS. Herein, Ag/Au composite films were employed as catalyst for in situ monitoring of the catalytic reaction of 4‑nitrobenzenethiol (4NBT) to p, p'‑dimercaptoazobenzene (DMAB). The catalytic reaction of 4NBT adsorbed on Au film can be manipulated at the nanoscale using TERS by controlling the height between the tip-apex and the sample surface in Ag tip-Au substrate geometry. According to finite difference time domain (FDTD) simulations, the 'hot electron' induced by the localized surface plasmon is sufficient for promoting the catalytic reaction. These findings provide a novel way for controllable graph drawing of molecules at the nanoscale level.

Keywords: Catalytic reaction; Finite difference time domain; Surface plasmon resonance; Tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy.