Magnesium Nanoparticles for Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering and Plasmon-Driven Catalysis

Nanostructures of some metals can sustain localized surface plasmon resonances, collective oscillations of free electrons excited by incident light. This effect results in wavelength-dependent absorption and scattering, enhancement of the incident electric field at the metal surface, and generation of hot carriers as a decay product. The enhanced electric field can be utilized to amplify the spectroscopic signal in surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS), while hot carriers can be exploited for catalytic applications. In recent years, cheaper and more earth abundant alternatives to traditional plasmonic Au and Ag have gained growing attention. Here, we demonstrate the ability of plasmonic Mg nanoparticles to enhance Raman scattering and drive chemical transformations upon laser irradiation. The plasmonic properties of Mg nanoparticles are characterized at the bulk and single particle level by optical spectroscopy and scanning transmission electron microscopy coupled with electron energy-loss spectroscopy and supported by numerical simulations. SERS enhancement factors of ∼10² at 532 and 633 nm are obtained using 4-mercaptobenzoic acid and 4-nitrobenzenethiol. Furthermore, the reductive coupling of 4-nitrobenzenethiol to 4,4'-dimercaptoazobenzene is observed on the surface of Mg nanoparticles under 532 nm excitation in the absence of reducing agents, indicating a plasmon-driven catalytic process. Once decorated with Pd, Mg nanostructures display an enhancement factor of 10³ along with an increase in the rate of catalytic coupling. The results of this study demonstrate the successful application of plasmonic Mg nanoparticles in sensing and plasmon-enhanced catalysis.