Real-space and real-time observation of a plasmon-induced chemical reaction of a single molecule

Direct plasmon chemistry Light can excite plasmons at a metal surface, which can then decay and create hot electrons that induce chemical reactions of adsorbed molecules. Kazuma et al. used a scanning tunneling microscope (STM) to induce and map out the surface dissociation of a dimethyl disulfide molecule on silver and copper surfaces. A silver STM tip created localized plasmons at different distances from the molecule. The plasmons drove the reaction directly by exciting the valence electrons of the molecule into unoccupied states and cleaving the sulfur-sulfur bond. Science , this issue p. 521