Dual optical functionality of local surface plasmon resonance for RuO2 nanoparticle-ZnO nanorod hybrids grown by atomic layer depositionElectronic supplementary information (ESI) available. See DOI: 10.1039/c2jm31513k

We demonstrate that a hybrid nanostructure consisting of a RuO 2 nanoparticle (NP)-ZnO nanorod confers dual local surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) enhancement of ultraviolet (UV) light emission and increase of visible light absorption. A RuO 2 NP-ZnO nanorod hybrid was fabricated by an atomic layer deposition method. The size and compositional control of the RuO 2 NP allowed (i) visible light absorption increase by the LSPR effect and (ii) proper interfacial electronic alignment of the RuO 2 -ZnO nanojunction, leading to LSPR coupling with UV light emission enhancement. Based on the combined LSPR effect factor, the dual functionality of LSPR was maximized with 10-20 nm sized RuO 2 NPs. These results suggest that a sophisticated design of the nanostructure material heterointerface enables LSPR enhancement of both light harvesting and emission. A hybrid nanostructure consisting of a RuO 2 nanoparticle-ZnO nanorod grown by atomic layer deposition confers dual surface plasmon resonance enhancement of ultraviolet light emission and visible light absorption.