Probing polarization modes of Ag nanowires with hot electron detection on Au/TiO2 nanodiodes

We report the effect of surface plasmons of silver nanowires (AgNWs) on the generation of hot electrons. The AgNWs were deposited on ultra-thin Au/TiO2 Schottky nanodiodes using a spraying method. As surface coverage of the AgNWs on the thin gold film increased, the short-circuit current under illumination increased, showing the effect of the AgNWs on the energy conversion efficiency. Detection of the hot electron flow enhanced by the AgNWs on the Au/TiO2 nanodiodes provides evidence of transverse (3.28 eV) and bulk silver (3.52 eV) plasmon modes that were confirmed by the measurement of the absorbance spectra of the AgNWs.