Plasmonic photocatalysis has emerged as a new frontier in heterogeneous catalysis due to its promise in harvesting light to drive reactions. Yet many mechanistic aspects remain to be unambiguously defined. Using single-molecule fluorescence imaging, Li et al. studied a fluorogenic and plasmon-enhanced reaction, amplex red oxidation, on single Au nanorods at subturnover resolution and under operando conditions. Both the rate-determining step and its activation energy were identified from the multiple elemental reactions. The results provide insights into the mechanism of plasmonic photocatalysis that may help the rational design of heterogeneous catalysts.
Keyphrases
- single molecule
- visible light
- fluorescence imaging
- photodynamic therapy
- atomic force microscopy
- living cells
- energy transfer
- high resolution
- reduced graphene oxide
- highly efficient
- solid state
- big data
- machine learning
- nitric oxide
- mass spectrometry
- quantum dots
- hydrogen peroxide
- transition metal
- gold nanoparticles
- fluorescent probe