Taking advantage of the localized surface resonance effect to boost the performance of electrochemical cells has rarely been demonstrated using nanoporous metal films as photoactive electrodes. Rather, studies on plasmon-enhanced electrochemical processes use plasmonic metal nanoparticles loaded onto semiconductor or conductor substrates. Here we present experimental evidence for the use of visible light to significantly enhance the kinetics of a redox reaction involving the oxidation of aluminum at the anode, and the reduction of hydrogen ions to hydrogen gas at the cathode. This reduction reaction is allowed to take place on a nanoporous Au film used as plasmonic photocathode. A 20-fold increase in the electrochemical current density was recorded upon exposure of the nanoporous Au cathode to visible light. We demonstrate that this significant current enhancement is associated with local heat generated in Au during localized surface plasmon resonance. These results could be exploited to develop high-performance heterogeneous photocatalysts based on plasmonic heating, for the conversion of renewable energy resources into fuels and value-added chemicals.

Background: The use of robotics in foregut surgery has become more prevalent in the United States over the last 10 years. We sought to find the differences in the clinical outcomes of robotic surgery compared with traditional laparoscopy in patients undergoing Heller myotomy. Materials and Methods: A retrospective population-based analysis was performed using the National Inpatient Sample (NIS) database for the span of 2010 to 2015. All patients who underwent laparoscopic or robotic Heller myotomy were included. Weighted multivariable random intercept linear and logistic regression models were used to assess the impact of robotic surgery on patient outcomes compared with laparoscopy. Results: There was a total of 11,562 patients with a median age of 54.2 years. Robotic Heller myotomy has a significantly decreased risk of overall complications for all centers (odds ratio=0.46; 95% confidence interval=0.29, 0.74). A subset analysis was performed looking specifically at high-volume centers (>20 operations per year), and overall complications remained lower in the robotic group. However, in high-volume centers, the robotic cohort did have a higher rate of esophageal perforation (2.7% vs. 0.8%, P<0.001). There was a higher length of stay in the laparoscopic Heller cohort (3.0 vs. 2.6 d, P=0.06) but higher overall charges in the robotic Heller cohort ($42,900 vs. $34,300, P=0.03). Conclusions: Robotic Heller myotomy is associated with lower overall complications and improved outcomes compared with laparoscopic Heller myotomy, even in high-volume centers. Robotic Heller myotomy is associated with a higher rate of esophageal perforations in high-volume centers despite the reduction in overall complications.

Thin films of nanoporous gold (NP-Au) have been extensively studied for localized surface plasmon resonance [1,2], showing a strong structure-property relationship between the morphology of the porous network and resonant frequencies. In this talk, I will show how we take advantage of this structure-property relationship and use UV-Visible optical spectroscopy to study the morphology evolution in NP-Au thin films in situ during selective electrolytic leaching of the sacrificial Ag from Au-Ag parent alloy. The evolution of plasmon resonance frequencies obtained from in situ UV-Vis spectra are directly linked to the morphology evolution (development of pores and changes in structure size) and the chemical composition (change in Ag content) in NP-Au, as confirmed by ex situ electron microscopy data. [1] A. Pröschel, J. Chacko, R. Whitaker, M. A. U Chen, and E. Detsi: Journal of The Electrochemical Society 166, H146-H150 (2019). [2] E. Detsi, M. Salverda, P.R. Onck and J.T.M. De Hosson: Journal of Applied Physics 115, 044308 (2014)

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