Field-enhanced spectroscopy on photoactive hybrid metallic/semiconducting nanostructures

• Applicant: Professorin Dai Zhang, Ph.D.
• Subject Area: Physical Chemistry of Solids and Surfaces, Material Characterisation ; Solid State and Surface Chemistry, Material Synthesis ; Physical Chemistry of Molecules, Liquids and Interfaces, Biophysical Chemistry
• Term: since 2024
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 544818065

This project focuses on semiconductor-plasmonic hybrids that effectively enhance the light trapping and conversion. Thanks to the synergistic combination of unique photoelectric properties and enormous amplification of the electromagnetic field, metal-semiconductor heterostructures enable diverse and innovative applications for the rational design of photovoltaic and catalytic devices or ultrasensitive sensors of chemical and biological substances. The key goal of the project is to investigate the processes responsible for these properties by recording the molecular signal generated at the semiconductor-plasmonic particle interface. For this purpose, field-enhanced spectroscopy techniques with the detection of inelastic light scattering will be used, i.e. surface-enhanced (SERS), photoinduced (PIERS), and tip-enhanced (TERS) Raman spectroscopy. Each of them provides a unique way of how the produced charge carriers migrate between the components of the hybrid nanomaterial and how this transport affects the magnitude and durability of a given function. These observations at the level of single molecules and the interface of both components of the nanomaterial will revolutionize our ability to understand the molecular world and manipulate materials to achieve their efficient multifunctionality in photo-induced reactions or optical sensors.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• International Connection: Czech Republic, Poland
• Partner Organisation: Czech Science Foundation
• Cooperation Partners: Professorin Kamilla Malek, Ph.D.; Professor Marek Procházka, Ph.D.