Plasmonics has aroused tremendous interest in photophysics, nanophotonics, and metamaterials. The extreme field concentration of plasmonics offers the ultimate spatial and temporal light control, single-particle detection, and optical modulation. Plasmon decay of metal nanostructures into hot carriers extends the application into photocatalysis, photodetectors, photovoltaics, and ultrafast nanooptics. The generated hot electron–hole pairs are transferred into adjacent dielectrics, well known to be more efficient than the hot carrier generation in dielectrics by direct photoexcitations. However, plasmon-induced hot-carrier-based devices are far from practical applications due to the low quantum yield of hot carrier extraction. Emergent challenges include low hot carrier generation efficiency in metals, rapid energy loss of hot carriers, and severe charge recombination at the metal/dielectric interface. In this review, we provide a fundamental insight into the hot carrier generation, transport, injection, and diffusion into dielectrics based on the steady-state and time-resolved spectroscopic studies as well as theoretical calculations. Strategies to enhance hot carrier generation in metals and electron transfer into dielectrics are discussed in detail. Then, applications based on hot carrier transfer are introduced briefly. Finally, we provide our suggestions on future research endeavors. We believe this review will provide a valuable overall physical picture of plasmon-induced hot carrier applications for researchers.
Naomi Halas, professor of electrical and computer engineering at Rice University and winner of the prestigious 2022 Eni Energy Transition Award, discusses her vision for the future of plasmonics and nanophotonics, in terms of fundamentals and applications, in conversation with Jia Zhu, professor in the College of Engineering and Applied Science at Nanjing University and associate editor for Advanced Photonics.
Dynamic plasmonics with the real-time active control capability of plasmonic resonances attracts much interest in the communities of physics, chemistry, and material science. Among versatile reconfigurable strategies for dynamic plasmonics, electrochemically driven strategies have garnered most of the attention. We summarize three primary strategies to enable electrochemically dynamic plasmonics, including structural transformation, carrier-density modulation, and electrochemically active surrounding-media manipulation. The reconfigurable microstructures, optical properties, and underlying physical mechanisms are discussed in detail. We also summarize the most promising applications of dynamic plasmonics, including smart windows, structural color displays, and chemical sensors. We suggest more research efforts toward the widespread applications of dynamic plasmonics.
Vapor condensation plays a crucial role in solar water-purification technologies. Conventional condensers in solar water-purification systems do not provide sufficient cooling power for vapor condensation, limiting the water production rate to 0.4 L m-2 hour-1. On the other hand, radiative dew condensation, a technique used by existing radiative dew condensers, only works at nighttime and is incompatible with solar water-purification technologies. Here, we develop daytime radiative condensers that reflect almost all solar radiation, and can thus create dew water even in direct sunlight. Compared to stateof- art condensers, our daytime radiative condenser doubles the production of purified water over a 24-hour period.
Conference Committee Involvement (11)
Photonics for Energy V
11 October 2025 | Beijing, China
Photonics for Energy IV
14 October 2024 | Nantong, Jiangsu, China
Photonics for Energy III
15 October 2023 | Beijing, China
New Concepts in Solar and Thermal Radiation Conversion V
23 August 2023 | San Diego, California, United States
Photonics for Energy II
5 December 2022 | Online Only, China
Photonics for Energy
10 October 2021 | Nantong, JS, China
New Concepts in Solar and Thermal Radiation Conversion IV
4 August 2021 | San Diego, California, United States
New Concepts in Solar and Thermal Radiation Conversion III
24 August 2020 | Online Only, California, United States
New Concepts in Solar and Thermal Radiation Conversion II
11 August 2019 | San Diego, California, United States
New Concepts in Solar and Thermal Radiation Conversion and Reliability
19 August 2018 | San Diego, California, United States
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