Gold nanoparticles embedded in polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) microreactors for plasmonic enhancement of photocatalytic processes

Abstract

We present an approach to utilize plasmonic (gold) nanoparticles embedded within the polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) host toped of with a thin semiconductor layer to enhance photocatalytic processes in microfluidic devices. We chose this approach because it is technologically simple, requires minimal changes to the standard microreactor fabrication process, is cost effective and is widely available as PDMS is the most commonly used material to fabricate microfluidic devices. We analyze the influence of particle size and concentration as well as the semiconductor layer material (refractive index) on the plasmonic response of the structure. This allows us to tune the primary and secondary effects of plasmonic resonance, such as light localization, hot carrier generation, heating effect, etc., which are crucial for enhancement of photocatalytic processes