Query: Plasmonic Coupling Architectures for Enhanced Photocatalysis

Candidate papers:

abstract: Plasmonic photocatalysis is a promising approach for solar energy transformation. Comparing with isolated metal nanoparticles, the plasmonic coupling architectures can provide further strengthened local electromagnetic field and boosted light harvesting capability through optimal control over the composition, spacing, and orientation of individual nanocomponents. As such, when integrated with semiconductor photocatalysts, the coupled metal nanostructures can dramatically promote exciton generation and separation through plasmonic coupling driven charge/energy transfer toward superior photocatalytic efficiencies. Herein, the principles of the plasmonic coupling effect are presented and recent progress on the construction of plasmonic coupling architectures and their integration with semiconductors for enhanced photocatalytic reactions is summarized. In addition, the remaining challenges as to the rational design and utilization of plasmon coupling structures are elaborated, and some prospects to inspire new opportunities on the future development of plasmonic coupling structures for efficient and sustainable light driven reactions are raised.
author_names: Can Xue
title: Plasmonic Coupling Architectures for Enhanced Photocatalysis.
venue: Advanced materials
year: 2021

abstract: Assembling two dimensional (2D) nanomaterials into three dimensional (3D) hierarchical structures with novel functions is challenging and has attracted considerable attention. However, it is quite difficult to obtain complex 3D architectures of 2D materials with a uniform and intact structure using traditional methods, such as hydrothermal/solvothermal methods and direct precipitation methods. Here, we use butterfly wing scales as bio templates to prepare 3D hierarchical BiOCl/Au wing scales for plasmonic photocatalysis. The as prepared materials exhibit excellent photodegradation of rhodamine B (RhB) under visible light. The degradation rates of BiOCl microspheres and BiOCl and BiOCl/Au butterfly wing scales are 48.8% 72.6% and 93.8% respectively, within 20 min illumination at the same loading capacities. This excellent performance of BiOCl/Au is attributed to the coupling of enhanced carrier separation efficiency and the effect of localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) aroused by 3D metallic structures. This study provides a relatively facile method to obtain complex 3D constructure of 2D materials. It also demonstrates a nature led route to prepare highly efficient plasmonic photocatalysts.
author_names: Xudong Yan

Huamei Zhao

Tengfei Li

Wang Zhang

Qinglei Liu

Yang Yuan

Lujun Huang

Lulu Yao

Jiahao Yao

Huilan Su

Yishi Su

Jiajun Gu

Di Zhang
title: In situ synthesis of BiOCl nanosheets on three dimensional hierarchical structures for efficient photocatalysis under visible light.
venue: Nanoscale
year: 2019

abstract: Plasmonic nanomaterials coupled with catalytically active surfaces can provide unique opportunities for various catalysis applications, where surface plasmons produced upon proper light excitation can be adopted to drive and/or facilitate various chemical reactions. A brief introduction to the localized surface plasmon resonance and recent design and fabrication of highly efficient plasmonic nanostructures, including plasmonic metal nanostructures and metal/semiconductor heterostructures is given. Taking advantage of these plasmonic nanostructures, the following highlights summarize recent advances in plasmon driven photochemical reactions (coupling reactions, O2 dissociation and oxidation reactions, H2 dissociation and hydrogenation reactions, N2 fixation and NH3 decomposition, and CO2 reduction) and plasmon enhanced electrocatalytic reactions (hydrogen evolution reaction, oxygen reduction reaction, oxygen evolution reaction, alcohol oxidation reaction, and CO2 reduction) Theoretical and experimental approaches for understanding the underlying mechanism of surface plasmon are discussed. A proper discussion and perspective of the remaining challenges and future opportunities for plasmonic nanomaterials and plasmon related chemistry in the field of energy conversion and storage is given in conclusion.
author_names: Siwei Li

Peng Miao

Yuanyuan Zhang

Jie Wu

Bin Zhang

Yunchen Du

Xijiang Han

Jianmin Sun

Ping Xu
title: Recent Advances in Plasmonic Nanostructures for Enhanced Photocatalysis and Electrocatalysis.
venue: Advanced materials
year: 2020

abstract: The extension of plasmonics to materials beyond the conventional noble metals opens up a novel and exciting regime after the inspiring discovery of characteristic localized surface plasmon resonances (LSPRs) in doped semiconductor nanocrystals originating from the collective oscillations of free holes in the valence band. We herein prepare colloidal monodisperse eccentric dual plasmonic noble metal nonstoichiometric copper chalcogenide (Au@Cu2 xSe) hybrid hetero nanostructures with precisely controlled semiconductor shell size and two tunable LSPRs in both visible (VIS) and near infrared (NIR) regions associated with Au and Cu2 xSe, respectively. Through systematic evaluations of the photocatalytic performance of Au@Cu2 xSe upon sole NIR and dual VIS NIR simultaneous excitations, we are capable of unambiguously elucidating the role of plasmonic coupling between two dissimilar building blocks on the accelerated photocatalytic reactions with greater rate constants from both experimental and computational perspectives. The significantly enhanced strength of the electromagnetic field arising from efficient plasmonic coupling under the excitation of two LSPRs results in the superior activities of dual plasmonic Au@Cu2 xSe in photocatalysis. The new physical and chemical insights gained from this work provide the keystone for the rational design and construction of high quality dual or even multi plasmonic nano systems with optimized properties for widespread applications ranging from photocatalysis to molecular spectroscopies.
author_names: Mariia Ivanchenko

Vida Nooshnab

Alline F Myers

Nicolas Large

Andrew J Evangelista

Hao Jing
title: Enhanced dual plasmonic photocatalysis through plasmonic coupling in eccentric noble metal nonstoichiometric copper chalcogenide hetero nanostructures
venue: Nano Research
year: 2021

abstract: Abstract Al nanoparticles composited with TiO2 (Al NPs/TiO2) has drawn considerable attention over the years due to the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) effect of Al NPs can significantly enhance the photocatalytic efficiency of TiO2. However, most of the Al NPs were obtained on Al substrates which limited its practical application. Herein, the isolated Al NPs were composited together with the TiO2 by using glutathione (GSH) as linking bridge in aqueous environment. Finite difference time domain (FDTD) simulation was used to reveal the LSPR absorption of Al NPs. The results show that the LSPR of 70 nm Al NPs have a strong coupling with the TiO2 band gap. The X ray diffraction analysis and TEM images show that our sample are pure, and the TiO2 indeed composite on the surface of Al NPs under the action of GSH ligand bridge as seen in the TEM images. This ligand bridge was further verified by the FTIR and XPS measurements. The EPR experiment indicate the OH signals of Al NPs/TiO2 are higher than that of pure TiO2 because of enhanced charge separation and transfer. The photodegradation experiment show that Al NPs/TiO2 can rapidly degrade the concentration of methylene blue (MB) to zero under UV vis light illumination in 70 min. All the above results indicate that the Al NPs can significantly enhance the photocatalytic efficiency of TiO2 which due to the LSPR effect of Al.
author_names: Tingsong Zhang

Mingze Xu

Jinhua Li
title: Enhanced photocatalysis of TiO2 by aluminum plasmonic
year: 2020

abstract: This work shows the enhancement of the visible photocatalytic activity of TiO2 NPs film using the localized surface plasmonic resonance of Au nanostructures. We adopted a simple yet effective surface treatment to tune the size distribution, and plasmonic resonance spectrum of Au nanostructured films on glass substrates, by hot plate annealing in air at low temperatures. A hybrid photocatalytic film of TiO2:Au is utilized to catalyse a selective photodegradation reaction of Methylene Blue in solution. Irradiation at the plasmonic resonance wavelength of the Au nanostructures provides more effective photodegradation compared to broadband artificial sunlight of significantly higher intensity. This improvement is attributed to the active contribution of the plasmonic hot electrons injected into the TiO2. The broadband source initiates competing photoreactions in the photocatalyst, so that carrier transfer from the catalyst surface to the solution is less efficient. The proposed hybrid photocatalyst can be integrated with a variety of device architectures and designs, which makes it highly attractive for low cost photocatalysis applications.
author_names: Mohammed A Ibrahem

Bassam G Rasheed

Rahman Ismael Mahdi

Taha M Khazal

Maryam M Omar

Mary O'neill
title: Plasmonic enhanced photocatalysis reactions using gold nanostructured films
year: 2020

abstract: ABSTRACT Light has emerged as a promising new reagent in chemical reactions, especially in enhancing the performance of metal nanoparticle catalysts. Certain metal nanoparticles support localized surface plasmon resonances (LSPRs) which convert incident light to strong electromagnetic fields, hot carriers, or heat for directing and improving chemical reactions. By combining plasmonically active metals with traditionally catalytic metals, bimetallic nanostructures promote simultaneous light conversion and strong molecular adsorption, expanding the library of light controlled reactions. In this review, we cover three bimetallic geometries: antenna reactor, core shell, and alloyed nanoparticle systems. Each geometry hosts its own set of intermetallic interactions which can affect the photocatalytic response. While antenna reactor systems rely exclusively on optical coupling between the plasmonic and catalytic metal to enhance reactivity, core shell and alloy architectures introduce electronic interactions in addition to optical effects. These electronic interactions usually dampen the plasmonic response but also offer the potential for enhanced reactivity and product specificity. We review both state of the art bimetallic photocatalysts as well as emerging research opportunities, including leveraging quantum effects, new computational methods to understand and predict photocatalysts, and atomic scale architecting of materials.
author_names: Katherine Sytwu

Michal Vadai

Jennifer A Dionne
title: Bimetallic nanostructures: combining plasmonic and catalytic metals for photocatalysis
year: 2019

abstract: The synthesis of noble metal/semiconductor hybrid nanostructures for enhanced catalytic or superior optical properties has attracted a lot of attention in recent years. In this study, a facile and all solution processed synthetic route was employed to demonstrate an Au/ZnO platform with plasmonic enhanced UV/Vis catalytic properties while retaining strengthened luminescent properties. The visible light response of photocatalysis is supported by localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) excitations while the enhanced performance under UV is aided by charge separation and strong absorption. The enhancement in optical properties is mainly due to local field enhancement effect and coupling between exciton and LSPR. Luminescent characteristics are investigated and discussed in detail. Recyclability tests showed that the Au/ZnO substrate is reusable by cleaning and has a long shelf life. Our result suggests that plasmonic enhancement of photocatalytic performance is not necessarily a trade off for enhanced near band edge emission in Au/ZnO. This approach may give rise to a new class of versatile platforms for use in novel multifunctional and integrated devices.
author_names: D R Hang

Sk Emdadul Islam

Chun-Hu Chen

Krishna Hari Sharma
title: Full Solution Processed Synthesis and Mechanisms of a Recyclable and Bifunctional Au/ZnO Plasmonic Platform for Enhanced UV/Vis Photocatalysis and Optical Properties.
venue: Chemistry
year: 2016

abstract: Solar conversion to fuels or to electricity in semiconductors using far red to near infrared (NIR) light, which accounts for about 40% of solar energy, is highly significant. One main challenge is the development of novel strategies for activity promotion and new basic mechanisms for NIR response. Mother Nature has evolved to smartly capture far red to NIR light via their intelligent systems due to unique micro/nanoarchitectures, thus motivating us for biomimetic design. Here we report the first demonstration of a new strategy, based on adopting nature's far red to NIR responsive architectures for an efficient bio inspired photocatalytic system. The system is constructed by controlled assembly of light harvesting plasmonic nanoantennas onto a typical photocatalytic unit with butterfly wings' 3D micro/nanoarchitectures. Experiments and finite difference time domain (FDTD) simulations demonstrate the structural effects on obvious far red to NIR photocatalysis enhancement, which originates from (1) Enhancing far red to NIR (700~1200 nm) harvesting, up to 25% (2) Enhancing electric field amplitude of localized surface plasmon (LSPs) to more than 3.5 times than that of the non structured one, which promotes the rate of electron hole pair formation, thus substantially reinforcing photocatalysis. This proof of concept study provides a new methodology for NIR photocatalysis and would potentially guide future conceptually new NIR responsive system designs.
author_names: Runyu Yan

Min Chen

Hang Zhou

Tiancun Liu

Xingwei Tang

Kebing Zhang

Hanxing Zhu

Jinhua Ye

Di Zhang

Tongxiang Fan
title: Bio inspired Plasmonic Nanoarchitectured Hybrid System Towards Enhanced Far Red to Near Infrared Solar Photocatalysis
venue: Scientific reports
year: 2016

abstract: Recent studies demonstrated that aromatic amines and aromatic nitro compounds could be converted to the corresponding azo species during surface enhanced Raman experiments. It is very interesting to study the reaction mechanism for molecules that contain both an amino group and a nitro group, nitroaniline isomers. DFT calculations are applied to study the surface enhanced Raman scattering and plasmonic photocatalysis of nitroaniline isomers on silver surfaces. The normal Raman and surface Raman spectra of nitroaniline isomers are first simulated and compared with experimental results. The calculated Raman spectra of o nitroaniline (ONA) m nitroaniline (MNA) and p nitroaniline (PNA) correspond to their solid state Raman spectra. However, the simulated surface Raman spectra of nitroaniline silver complexes are significantly different from the experimental SERS spectra. According to the theoretical simulation, the appearance of new peaks in the SERS experiments of nitroaniline is attributed to the formatio.
author_names: Liu-Bin Zhao

Xiao-Xiang Liu

De-Yin Wu
title: Oxidative Coupling or Reductive Coupling? Effect of Surroundings on the Reaction Route of the Plasmonic Photocatalysis of Nitroaniline
year: 2016