Decoding the Kinetic Limitations of Plasmon Catalysis: The Case of 4-Nitrothiophenol Dimerization
Plasmon-mediated chemistry presents an intriguing new approach to photocatalysis. However, the reaction enhancement<br>mechanism is not well understood. In particular, the relative importance of plasmon-generated hot charges and<br>photoheating are strongly debated. In this article, we evaluate the influence of microscopic photoheating on the kinetics of<br>a model plasmon-catalyzed reaction: the light-induced 4-nitrothiophenol (4NTP) to 4,4’-dimercaptoazobenzene (DMAB)<br>dimerization. Direct measurement of the reaction temperature by nanoparticle Raman-thermometry demonstrated that<br>the thermal effect plays a dominant role in the kinetic limitations of this multistep reaction. On the same time, no reaction<br>is possible by dark heating to the same temperature. This shows that plasmon nanoparticles have the unique ability to<br>enhance several steps of complex tandem reactions simultaneously. These results provide insight into the role of hot<br>electron and thermal effects in plasmonic catalysis of complex organic reactions, which highly important for the ongoing<br>development of plasmon based photosynthesis. <br>