posted on 2021-11-29, 21:03authored byBinbin Zhou, Weihui Ou, Junda Shen, Chenghao Zhao, Jing Zhong, Peng Du, Haidong Bian, Pan Li, Liangbao Yang, Jian Lu, Yang Yang Li
Plasmon-mediated
chemical reactions (PMCRs) possess desirable opportunities
for manipulating the reaction outcomes due to the unique impact from
surface plasmons. However, achieving PMCR product selectivity by tuning
the light wavelength has rarely been demonstrated and the underlying
mechanism of product selectivity remains elusive. This work studies
the reaction mechanism of one classical type of PMCR, plasmon-aided
reduction of p-nitrothiophenol (PNTP), and discovers
that the reduction product of PNTP can be easily manipulated by adjusting
the excitation light wavelength due to the different thermal and hot-electron
effects induced by the different wavelengths. Specifically, the sole
product of p,p′-dimercaptoazobenzene
is obtained under 514 nm light due to the dominant thermal effect
thus created, whereas p-aminothiophenol is more favorably
produced under 785 nm light, which enables more efficient generation
of hot electrons.