Enhanced photocatalytic activity and photoresponse of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) nanofibers decorated with gold nanoparticle under visible light

• Published in: Solar energy 2018-01, Vol.159, p.548-560
• Main Authors: Ghosh, Srabanti, Mallik, Awadesh K., Basu, Rajendra N.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Batteries; Catalytic activity; Conducting polymer nanostructures; Conducting polymers; Conjugation; Dyes; Electron transfer; Energy conversion; Environmental degradation; Fuel technology; Gold; Gold nanoparticles; Irradiation; Light; Light irradiation; Nanofibers; Nanohybrids; Nanoparticles; Nanostructure; Photocatalysis; Photodegradation; Pollutants; Pollution detection; Polymers; Radiation; Raman spectra; Rhodamine; Solar energy; Substrates; Surface-Enhanced Raman scattering (SERS); Titanium dioxide; Water splitting
• ISSN: 0038-092X; 1471-1257
• DOI: 10.1016/j.solener.2017.11.036

Effective sensitization of conducting polymer nanofibers with plasmonic Au nanoparticles demonstrated superior solar light harvesting ability through visible light active photocatalysis which can be exploited as recyclable SERS substrates and photoelectrochemical properties. [Display omitted] •Au/PEDOT nanohybrids prepared by a facile method using chemical oxidative template.•Au/PEDOT nanohybrids demonstrated photocatalytic activity under visible light.•Au/PEDOT exhibited surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) to detect dye molecules.•The Au/PEDOT demonstrates high photoelectrochemical activity.•The efficient charge separation at the nanohybrid enhance the catalytic activity. Conducting polymer nanostructures has been recognized as photocatlysts, a promising breakthrough in photocatalysis and other energy conversion application, such as fuel cell and battery in the near future. An efficient light harvesting hybrid nanostructures based on Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) nanofibers and gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) was prepared successfully via a one pot colloidal synthetic route. The plasmonic Au NPs (∼6 nm) are synergistically integrated on the conductive polymer nanofibers as evident from microscopic techniques. The Au/Ppy nanohybrids (NHs) demonstrate superior photocatalytic activity for organic pollutant degradation under visible light irradiation which is ∼5.6 times higher than bare polymer (kinetic constant, over 46 times higher than the traditional Au/TiO2 catalyst). The photoinduced electron transfer from PEDOT nanofibers to Au NPs at the hybrid interface may occurred via a systematic extension of conjugation from polymeric moiety due to the closer proximity of the Au NPs which enhance the charge separation. The high-coverage of Au NPs deposition on the PEDOT nanofibers further allows surface-enhanced Raman scattering to detect the analyte molecules (Dye molecules such as Rhodamine B, Methyl orange) at a concentration of 10−8 M with an enhancement factor of 104. Moreover, Au/PEDOT NHs demonstrated photoelectrochemical activity with the photo current density up to 11.2 mA cm−2, which is 65% higher than bare PEDOT under similar reaction condition. Hence, Au/PEDOT NHs can be utilize for various applications such as photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants and as SERS substrate for simultaneous detection of the analyte molecules and water splitting.