Dual-plasmon-enhanced nitrophenol hydrogenation over W18O49–Au heterostructures studied at the single-particle level

Abstract

The use of plasmonic materials is an effective way to enhance light absorption and thus boost catalytic performance in photocatalysis. In this study, W₁₈O₄₉–Au heterostructures were constructed to couple the advantages of both W₁₈O₄₉ and Au, enhancing the light absorption and carrier separation ability of this dual-plasmonic system. The W₁₈O₄₉–Au heterostructures exhibited highly enhanced performance for nitrophenol hydrogenation, and the rate constant reached 0.2044 min⁻¹, which was 12 and 102 times higher than that of Au and W₁₈O₄₉, respectively. Besides, a hot electron injection process from W₁₈O₄₉ to Au was demonstrated by single-particle photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy, which is beneficial for boosting the performance, because Au is the active site in this reaction. This finding will shed light on the coupling effect and energy transfer process in the dual-plasmonic system.