Ibrahem, Mohammed A.Verrelli, EmanueleAdawi, Ali M.Bouillard, Jean-Sebastien G.O'Neill, Mary2025-02-282025-02-282024-02-202470-1343https://hdl.handle.net/11693/116978The coupling between sub-bandgap defect states and surface plasmon resonances in Au nanoparticles and its effects on the photoconductivity performance of $TiO_2$ are investigated in both the ultraviolet (UV) and visible spectrum. Incorporating a 2 nm gold nanoparticle layer in the photodetector device architecture creates additional trapping pathways, resulting in a faster current decay under UV illumination and a significant enhancement in the visible photocurrent of $TiO_2$, with an 8-fold enhancement of the defects-related photocurrent. We show that hot electron injection (HEI) and plasmonic resonance energy transfer (PRET) jointly contribute to the observed photoconductivity enhancement. In addition to shedding light on the below-band-edge photoconductivity of $TiO_2$, our work provides insight into new methods to probe and examine the surface defects of metal oxide semiconductors using plasmonic resonances.EnglishCC BY 4.0 (Attribution 4.0 International Deed)https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Analytical apparatusMetal nanoparticlesOxidesPhotonicsPlasmonicsArticle10.1021/acsomega.3c06932