Issue 22, 2019

Laser illumination-induced dramatic catalytic activity change on Au nanospheres

Abstract

Understanding morphology dependent catalytic kinetics from a single nanoparticle plays a significant role in the development of robust nano-catalysts with high efficiency. Unfortunately, detailed knowledge of the morphology dependent catalytic properties of single nanoparticles after shape transitions is lacking. In this work, the distinct catalytic properties of a single gold nanoparticle (GNP) after symmetry breaking were disclosed at the single-particle level for the first time. The morphology of the spherical GNP was elongated into a rod shape (i.e., gold nanorod, GNR) with a tightly focused Gaussian laser beam based on the photothermal effect. By using the fluorogenic oxidation reaction (i.e., amplex red to resorufin) as a model reaction, noticeable variation in catalytic efficiency after the shape modulation process was found at the single-particle level. The GNP displays noticeably higher catalytic efficiency which might be ascribed to the heterogeneous lattice structure on the particle surface as confirmed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) characterization. Rearrangement of surface atoms after shape modulation normally generates a more ordered crystal structure, resulting in a lower surface energy for catalytic reaction. However, both of these nanoparticles still exhibit dynamic activity fluctuation in a temporal dependent route, indicating a distinct spontaneous dynamic surface restructuring process. These kinetic evidences might facilitate the development nanoparticle-based heterogeneous catalysts, particularly based on the morphology effect.

Graphical abstract: Laser illumination-induced dramatic catalytic activity change on Au nanospheres

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Edge Article
Submitted
04 apr 2019
Accepted
29 apr 2019
First published
29 apr 2019
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., 2019,10, 5793-5800

Laser illumination-induced dramatic catalytic activity change on Au nanospheres

Z. Ye, L. Wei, L. Xiao and J. Wang, Chem. Sci., 2019, 10, 5793 DOI: 10.1039/C9SC01666J

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