Imaging Energy Transfer in Pt-Decorated Au Nanoprisms via Electron Energy-Loss Spectroscopy

Driven by the desire to understand energy transfer between plasmonic and catalytic metals for applications such as plasmon-mediated catalysis, we examine the spatially resolved electron energy-loss spectra (EELS) of both pure Au nanoprisms and Pt-decorated Au nanoprisms. The EEL spectra and the resulting surface-plasmon mode maps reveal detailed near-field information on the coupling and energy transfer in these systems, thereby elucidating the underlying mechanism of plasmon-driven chemical catalysis in mixed-metal nanostructures. Through a combination of experiment and theory we demonstrate that although the location of the Pt decoration greatly influences the plasmons of the nanoprism, simple spatial proximity is not enough to induce significant energy transfer from the Au to the Pt. What matters more is the spectral overlap between the intrinsic plasmon resonances of the Au nanoprism and Pt decoration, which can be tuned by changing the composition or morphology of either component.