Detection of Dye Molecules Adsorbed in a Mesoporous Layer by Surface Plasmon Resonance Spectroscopy and its Comparison with Simulation Results

We report in this paper, the utilization of Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) spectroscopy to distinct the adsorption type of dye molecules into an Aluminium-doped Zinc Oxide (AZO) mesoporous layer. This was performed in a Kretschmann configuration by measuring the SPR spectra at various incident angles. The SPR spectral dips were then compared with the simulation results calculated on the basis of the transfer-matrix method. There is an agreement between the simulation results and experimental results, which confirm two different kinds of dye adsorption. The first type is pure dye adsorption into the mesoporous layer, while the second type is dye adsorption accompanied by dye deposition on the mesoporous surface.