Energy transfer in molecular systems at the surface of metal solids and nanoparticles

Nonradiative transfer of electronic excitation energy between molecules at a flat and curved conductor surface was studied. It was shown that the effective mechanism of energy transfer in a such a system can involve surface plasmons. The type of the distance dependence and the characteristics of anisotropy of the energy transfer rate in a donor-acceptor pair of adsorbates were established. Comparative estimates of the efficiency of direct dipole-dipole energy transfer and the plasmon pathway of transfer were made. It was found that the contribution of the plasmon mechanism to the total rate of energy transfer dominates (exceeds by one to two orders of magnitude the rate of transfer in the absence of conducting bodies from the system) when the molecules occur close to the metal surface.