Useful hot electrons

Abstract

In recent years, “hot electrons”, with kinetic energy that is higher than the surrounding electrons, are attracting attention. Hot electrons are studied for their use in photochemistry and the enhancement of the efficiency of photo-electron conversion although hot electrons are not preferred during measurement. It is necessary to irradiate light with a sufficiently short wavelength beyond the band gap to excite electrons to a high energy state. However, hot electrons can be generated by using localized surface plasmon resonance. Here, we will outline the processes from the method of generating hot electrons to the transfer of the hot electrons generated in metals to semiconductors or adsorbed molecules through an interface, and the induced chemical reaction for the application to energy generation.