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Peer-reviewedCC BYACS nano

Interfacial Charge Transfer Controls Plasmon-Enhanced Catalysis in DNA-Coated Gold Nanorods.

  • Bishal Pokhrel1
  • Li Zuo1
  • Tamie Vo2
  • Pravin Pokhrel1
  • Rebecca L Stratton1
  • Sajan Shakya1
  • Adeola Adeyemi1
  • Hanbin Mao1,3
  • Wei-Shun Chang2
  • Hao Shen1,3
  1. 1Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio44242, United States.
  2. 2Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth, Dartmouth, Massachusetts02747, United States.
  3. 3Advanced Materials and Liquid Crystal Institute, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio44242, United States.
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Abstract

The ultrafast recombination of plasmon-generated hot carriers (within ∼100 fs) has long prevented their productive use in catalysis. Here, we show that a DNA corona coated on gold nanorods (AuNRs) overcomes this barrier through chemical interface damping (CID): hot electrons generated by longitudinal plasmon excitation transfer directly into the DNA layer, creating charge-separated states that drive long-range catalysis within the corona phase. Using three complementary single-particle techniques, single-particle force spectroscopy, single-particle scattering spectroscopy, and single-particle fluorescence microscopy, we establish the first quantitative, sample-level correlation between population-averaged interfacial charge transfer efficiency (ηCT) and enzyme-like catalytic activity. As the DNA:AuNR feed ratio increases, ηCT rises from 20% to 32%, and the plasmon-enhanced turnover rate increases proportionally. Photothermal effects are rigorously excluded by control experiments. These results reveal that the DNA corona simultaneously serves as a substrate-binding scaffold and stabilizes interfacial charge-separated states, establishing CID engineering as a design principle for next-generation plasmonic photocatalysts.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{pokhrel2026interfacial,
  title = {{Interfacial Charge Transfer Controls Plasmon-Enhanced Catalysis in DNA-Coated Gold Nanorods.}},
  author = {Bishal Pokhrel and Li Zuo and Tamie Vo and Pravin Pokhrel and Rebecca L Stratton and Sajan Shakya and Adeola Adeyemi and Hanbin Mao and Wei-Shun Chang and Hao Shen},
  journal = {ACS nano},
  year = {2026},
  month = sep,
  doi = {10.1021/acsnano.6c08886},
  url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42915762},
  note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - Interfacial Charge Transfer Controls Plasmon-Enhanced Catalysis in DNA-Coated Gold Nanorods.
AU  - Bishal Pokhrel
AU  - Li Zuo
AU  - Tamie Vo
AU  - Pravin Pokhrel
AU  - Rebecca L Stratton
AU  - Sajan Shakya
AU  - Adeola Adeyemi
AU  - Hanbin Mao
AU  - Wei-Shun Chang
AU  - Hao Shen
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/09/01
JO  - ACS nano
DO  - 10.1021/acsnano.6c08886
UR  - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42915762
AB  - The ultrafast recombination of plasmon-generated hot carriers (within ∼100 fs) has long prevented their productive use in catalysis. Here, we show that a DNA corona coated on gold nanorods (AuNRs) overcomes this barrier through chemical interface damping (CID): hot electrons generated by longitudinal plasmon excitation transfer directly into the DNA layer, creating charge-separated states that drive long-range catalysis within the corona phase. Using three complementary single-particle techniques, single-particle force spectroscopy, single-particle scattering spectroscopy, and single-particle fluorescence microscopy, we establish the first quantitative, sample-level correlation between population-averaged interfacial charge transfer efficiency (ηCT) and enzyme-like catalytic activity. As the DNA:AuNR feed ratio increases, ηCT rises from 20% to 32%, and the plasmon-enhanced turnover rate increases proportionally. Photothermal effects are rigorously excluded by control experiments. These results reveal that the DNA corona simultaneously serves as a substrate-binding scaffold and stabilizes interfacial charge-separated states, establishing CID engineering as a design principle for next-generation plasmonic photocatalysts.
SN  - 1936-0851
SN  - 1936-086X
ER  -