Operando Analysis of Hot Electron Dynamics and Schottky Barrier Modulation in Hierarchical Au/WO3 Inverse Opal Photonic Crystal Micro-Chip for Enhanced Gas Sensing

adsorption and modulate electron depletion layers under illumination and (ii) dynamic Schottky barrier reconfiguration at electrode junctions that quantitatively correlates environmental stimuli (gas concentration, photon flux, temperature) with resistance evolution. By bridging nanoscale charge transfer to device-level responses, the study establishes a transformative methodology for plasmon-enhanced photonic sensors while providing fundamental insights into interfacial processes, enabling knowledge-driven development of high-precision detectors with ultimate sensitivity and selectivity.