The Chemical Potential of Plasmonic Excitations

By the photoexcitation of localized surface plasmon resonances of metal nanoparticles, one can generate reaction equivalents for driving redox reactions. We show that, in such cases, there is a chemical potential contributed by the plasmonic excitation. This chemical potential is a function of the concentration of light, as we determine from the light-intensity-dependent activity in the plasmon-excitation-driven reduction of CO₂ on Au nanoparticles. Our finding allows the treatment of plasmonic excitation as a reagent in chemical reactions; the chemical potential of this reagent is tunable by the light intensity.