Issue 10, 2018

Plasmon-mediated charge dynamics and photoactivity enhancement for Au-decorated ZnO nanocrystals

Abstract

With the capability of localizing optical energy via surface plasmon resonance (SPR), plasmonic Au nanostructures hold great promise for enhancing the solar water splitting of semiconductor photocatalysts. While the content of Au plays a critical role in mediating interfacial charge transfer, its quantitative influence on the efficiency of plasmon-assisted water splitting is still not fully understood. This work aimed to explore the correlations among plasmonic metal content, SPR-mediated charge transfer and electromagnetic response, and the resultant photoactivity enhancement toward photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting. The PEC system was constructed by employing Au particle-decorated ZnO nanocrystals (ZnO–Au) as the plasmonic photoanode. Time-resolved photoluminescence spectroscopy and finite-difference time-domain simulations were utilized to evaluate the optimal Au content which attained effective charge separation and imposed a significant SPR effect for achieving the largest photoactivity enhancement. The charge transfer at the photoanode/electrolyte interface and its dependence on the Au content were examined with electrochemical impedance analysis, which manifested the effectiveness of the optimal Au content in facilitating the hole transfer kinetics. The present study reports a technical advance in the realization of the quantitative effect of Au for designing sophisticated plasmonic PEC systems that enabled efficient solar-to-fuel energy conversion.

Graphical abstract: Plasmon-mediated charge dynamics and photoactivity enhancement for Au-decorated ZnO nanocrystals

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
27 set 2017
Accepted
09 dez 2017
First published
11 dez 2017

J. Mater. Chem. A, 2018,6, 4286-4296

Plasmon-mediated charge dynamics and photoactivity enhancement for Au-decorated ZnO nanocrystals

Y. Chiu, K. Chang and Y. Hsu, J. Mater. Chem. A, 2018, 6, 4286 DOI: 10.1039/C7TA08543E

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements