Localized surface plasmon energy dissipation in bimetallic core–shell nanostructures

Abstract

Exploring the plasmon energy dissipation mechanism of bimetallic nanostructures after photoexcitation is of great significance for controlling energy transfer in plasmonic applications. The absorption, scattering, and extinction spectra of Ag@Cu, Ag@Pt, and Ag@Co core–shell nanostructures are calculated by finite element method, and the energy dissipation process is visualized by using particle trajectory and the absorbed power density distribution. The absorption/scattering ratio of the core–shell nanostructures, the shell absorptivity, the time-domain electric field as well as the extra-core electron arrangements of Ag, Cu, Pt, and Co atoms are analyzed for figuring out the energy dissipation mechanism. The results show that when a non-plasmonic metal is coated on the surface of a plasmonic metal, the plasmon energy dissipates preferentially in the shell, and the degree of dissipation depends on the imaginary part of the dielectric constant of the shell and the core. A larger dielectric constant of the shell can cause more energy to be transferred from the plasmonic metal to the shell region. This study provides the fundamental physical framework and design principles for plasmonic nanostructures.