Quantitative Study of the Photothermal Properties of Metallic Nanowire Networks

Abstract

In this article, we present a comprehensive investigation of the photothermal properties of plasmonic nanowire networks. We measure the local steady-state temperature increase, heat source density, and absorption in Ag, Au, and Ni metallic nanowire networks under optical illumination. This allows direct experimental confirmation of increased heat generation at the junction between two metallic nanowires and stacking-dependent absorption of polarized light. Due to thermal collective effects, the local temperature distribution in a network is shown to be completely delocalized on a micrometer scale, despite the nanoscale features in the heat source density. Comparison of the experimental temperature profile with numerical simulation allows an upper limit for the effective thermal conductivity of a Ag nanowire network to be established at 43 Wm(-1) K(-1) (0.1 κbulk).

Rapid and Effective Electrical Conductivity Improvement of the Ag NW-Based Conductor by Using the Laser-Induced Nano-Welding Process

“…As shown in previous SEM images, Ag NWs are easily heated and melted in the LINW process when the proper laser energy is irradiated to the Ag NW percolation networks. It is well known that the electromagnetic field enhancements on the surface of Ag NW generate localized thermal heating due to surface plasmon polaritons (SPP) on the surface of Ag NWs [ 18 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 ]. This behavior can be seen in finite difference time domain (FDTD) simulation (Lumerical), as shown in Figure 5 .…”

“…In addition, electromagnetic field enhancement are still maximized near the junction of two Ag NWs, even though two Ag NWs are separated from each other by a small gap. The optical absorption, or the volumetric heat source density generated inside the metal, is calculated by [ 36 ] …”

Plasmon-enhanced solar vapor generation

“…Aluminum is also an ideal candidate for plasmonic photothermal applications due to its strong plasmon resonance in the UV range. However, the calculation might not be in accordance with experimental results because of the instability of metal surface similar for silver, as mentioned above [100][101][102]. What's more, the ability of heat generation also strongly connects with the incident light and the geometry factors as illustrated in Figure 5E and F [25].…”

Zr-doped TiO2 as a thermostabilizer in plasmon-enhanced dye-sensitized solar cells

“…29 Increasing dye degradation temperatures (80°C to 160°C) in DSSCs lead to unfavorable growth of electron recombination rates, decreasing photo-current densities, and drastically reduced open-circuit voltages (V OC ), all contributing to substantially reduced energy conversion efficiencies (η). 30 AgNPs exhibit very similar temperature enhancements compared with AuNPs 31 and are therefore excellent candidates for exploiting the thermostabilizing effect of zirconium-doped TiO 2 as photoactive material in plasmon-enhanced DSSCs. Zirconium (Zr) is one of the most suitable dopants as it is known to have very high thermostabilizing properties.…”