Detection of electron tunneling across plasmonic nanoparticle-film junctions using nitrile vibrations.

ABSTRACT: The significant electric field enhancements that occur in plasmonic nanogap junctions are instrumental in boosting the performance of spectroscopy, optoelectronics and catalysis. Electron tunneling, associated with quantum effects in small junctions, is reported to limit the electric field enhancement. However, observing and quantitatively determining how tunneling alters the electric fields within small gaps is challenging due to the nanoscale dimensions and heterogeneity present experimentally. Here, we report the use of a nitrile probe placed in the nanoparticle-film gap junctions to demonstrate that the change in the nitrile stretching band associated with the vibrational Stark effect can be directly correlated with the local electric field environment modulated by gap size variations.

SUBMITTER: Wang H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5325176 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature