Issue 41, 2024

Plasmon-powered chemistry with visible-light active copper nanoparticles

Abstract

In the quest for affordable materials for performing visible-light driven chemistry, we report here intriguing optical and photothermal properties of plasmonic copper nanoparticles (CuNPs). Precise tuning of reaction conditions and surface functionalization yield stable and monodisperse CuNPs, with a strong localized surface plasmon absorption at ∼580 nm. The molar extinction coefficient is estimated to be ∼7.7 × 107 M−1 cm−1 at 580 nm, which signifies their suitability for various light-harnessing studies. The characteristic wine-red colour and crystallography studies confirm the presence of mainly Cu(0) atoms in CuNPs, which showed excellent long-term colloidal and compositional stability under ambient conditions (at least 50 days). The as-synthesized oleylamine-capped CuNPs are ligand-exchanged with charged thiolate ligands of both polarities to form stable dispersions in water, with complete retention of their plasmonic properties and structural integrity (for ∼2 days and ∼6 h under inert and ambient conditions, respectively). Photothermal-conversion efficiency of CuNPs is estimated to be ∼80%, raising the surrounding temperature to ∼170 °C within ∼30 s of irradiation with a 1 W 532 nm diode laser, which is ‘hot’ enough to perform useful solar-vapor generation and high-temperature crystal-to-crystal phase transformation. Our work projects plasmonic CuNPs as an affordable and effective alternative to conventional metal NPs to harness light–matter interactions for future plasmon-powered chemistry.

Graphical abstract: Plasmon-powered chemistry with visible-light active copper nanoparticles

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Edge Article
Submitted
19 Jul 2024
Accepted
19 Sep 2024
First published
20 Sep 2024
This article is Open Access

All publication charges for this article have been paid for by the Royal Society of Chemistry
Creative Commons BY-NC license

Chem. Sci., 2024,15, 16997-17006

Plasmon-powered chemistry with visible-light active copper nanoparticles

S. Tyagi, R. K. Kashyap, A. Dhankhar and P. P. Pillai, Chem. Sci., 2024, 15, 16997 DOI: 10.1039/D4SC04806G

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