Plasmon‐driven catalysis in aqueous solutions probed by SERS spectroscopy

Since 2010, the plasmon-driven catalysis using surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) in atmospheric environment has been experimentally reported. Recent experimental results since 2014 revealed that catalysis under aqueous condition is much better than that in atmospheric environment. In this paper, we review plasmon-driven catalysis using SERS under aqueous condition. First, the experimental apparatus developed by ourselves is introduced in detail. Second, we demonstrate the advantages of plasmon-driven catalysis using SERS under aqueous condition compared to that in atmospheric environment. Third, we review recent experimental results using this measurement method in different experimental settings under aqueous condition. The manipulation of reaction environment effectively provided the possibility to reveal the mechanism of surface plasmon catalysis for different reactions. This method has great potential to apply on ultrasensitive spectral analysis for SERS, catalysis, sensor and biology system under aqueous condition. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.