Plasmonic enhancement of a photocycloreversion reaction of a diarylethene derivative using individually dispersed silver nanoparticles.

The fabrication of silver nanoparticles covered with polymers with a well-defined core-shell structure and the quantitative evaluation of the plasmonic enhancement effect on a photochemical reaction in the vicinity of these silver nanoparticles individually dispersed in a medium are described. The photocycloreversion reaction of a diarylethene polymer in the vicinity of silver nanoparticles was enhanced by 2-6 times relative to the reaction without the nanoparticles. The promotion of the photocycloreversion reaction is due to enhancement of the electromagnetic field near the surface of the silver core.