Luminescent and Photochemical Properties of Molecules Near Rough Metal Surfaces

Abstract

The luminescent properties of molecules near rough surfaces of some metals are radically different than these properties near flat surfaces of the same metal. In both cases, the luminescence is an excellent probe of the electrodynamic interaction among the optical fields, the adsorbate, and the electronic excitations in the metal surface. It is the differences between these electronic excitations in the rough and smooth surfaces which give rise to the new properties found on the rough surfaces. These new excitations also give rise to other unusual inelastic light scattering processes at rough metal surfaces such as surfaced-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS). Thus, our studies of the luminescent processes on rough metal surfaces not only provides information on the electrodynamics at these surfaces but also the origins of their many unusual optical properties.