Transition Metal Nitrides Are Heating Up the Field of Plasmonics

Abstract

Metal nitride nanostructures have been predicted to exhibit plasmonic responses in the UV to IR region, which can enable their potential use as low-cost, chemically, and thermally stable materials in several applications. In the case of photothermal applications, nitrides have been shown, both numerically and experimentally, to perform better than the noble metals. Additionally superior thermal stability of the metal nitride materials offers compatibility with high temperature device fabrication techniques. The plasmon frequency for transition metal nitride materials can be tuned from the UV to IR region by varying the type of metal in the nitride and metal/nitrogen ratio. Recently, studies have focused on developing and applying free-standing metal nitride nanostructures. Most investigations have focused on TiN, but as of late focus has been shifting to investigate other nanostructured nitrides such as ZrN and HfN. This Perspective will highlight recent key findings on the synthesis of plasmonic metal nitrides; associated thermal stability and photothermal properties; and application in photothermal therapy, solar-driven water evaporation, and chemical reactions. An outlook on current knowledge gaps and challenges and future directions to further this field is also presented.

Insights into the Utilization and Quantification of Thermoplasmonic Properties in Gold Nanorod Arrays

“…1−7 A photoexcited plasmonic nanostructure can initiate a series of de-excitation pathways via radiative (scattering or emission of photons) and nonradiative processes (electron−electron, electron−phonon, or phonon−phonon interactions), resulting in unique plasmonic outcomes. 8,9 Each of these intriguing relaxation processes has earned them a special place in the areas of surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS), 10,11 plasmonic photocatalysis, [1][2][3][4][5][6][7]12,13 and thermoplasmonics. 14−20 Thoughtful use of nanostructured materials as well as reaction conditions is crucial to minimize the interference between the different relaxation processes, and thereby achieve the desired outcome.…”

“…Forming and breaking of high energy chemical bonds with plasmons is an emerging paradigm in materials science. − A photoexcited plasmonic nanostructure can initiate a series of de-excitation pathways via radiative (scattering or emission of photons) and nonradiative processes (electron–electron, electron–phonon, or phonon–phonon interactions), resulting in unique plasmonic outcomes. , Each of these intriguing relaxation processes has earned them a special place in the areas of surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS), , plasmonic photocatalysis, − ,, and thermoplasmonics. − Thoughtful use of nanostructured materials as well as reaction conditions is crucial to minimize the interference between the different relaxation processes, and thereby achieve the desired outcome. For example, the success of plasmonic photocatalysis relies on the timely and efficient extraction of hot charge carriers from the nanostructures (in the order of a few femtoseconds). , Failing this, the entire excitation energy will be dissipated as heat to the nanoparticle lattice, and finally, to the surroundings (often termed as thermalization or the local heating process), , which triggers different photothermal processes.…”

Plasmonic Ni3N Cocatalyst Boosting Directional Charge Transfer and Separation toward Synergistic Photocatalytic–Photothermal Performance of Hydrogen and Benzaldehyde Production as Well as Bacterial Inactivation

“…18 More importantly, TMNs produce a photothermal effect under light irradiation, which would increase the temperature of the entire reaction system to elevate surface reaction kinetics. 19 Herein, two-dimensional Ni 3 N nanosheets, as a typical TMN, have been prepared and then integrated with onedimensional Cd 0.9 Zn 0.1 S (CZS) nanorods to form a twodimensional (2D)/one-dimensional (1D) Ni 3 N/CZS heterojunction by a self-assembly method. Various characterizations showed that the loading of the plasmonic Ni 3 N cocatalyst can not only induce the directional transfer of photogenerated carriers and inhibit carrier recombination but also enhance the light absorption and offer heat to enhance the reaction temperature to promote the reaction kinetics.…”

Solid-State Synthesis of UV-Plasmonic Cr2N Nanoparticles

“…Many of these studies have predominantly focused on TiN which exhibits broad absorption with localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) maximum typically in the near-IR region. 6 As such, TiN has been explored for solar light driven processes such as water evaporation 4,5 and photocatalysis [7][8][9] and applications that require absorption in the biological transparency window such as photothermal therapy 10 and photoacoustic tomography. 11 Moving down the group, ZrN and HfN have also been explored which possess LSPR in the visible region of the electromagnetic spectrum.…”

“…Plasmonic metal nitrides have recently received significant interest as reports outlining multiple synthetic methods to prepare free-standing nanoparticles (NPs), [1][2][3] demonstrating their thermal stability, 4 and high photothermal efficiency 4,5 have emerged.…”