Hotspots in action: near-infrared light mediated photoelectrochemical oxygen evolution on high index faceted plasmonic gold nanoarchitectures

Photo-induced electrochemical water splitting is a fascinating approach to overcome the present energy demands as well as environmental issues. To this end, near-infrared (NIR) photocatalysts stand out as promising candidates (where 53% of the solar light is NIR light) to solve the present energy cr...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nanoscale 2022-08, Vol.14 (31), p.11323-11334
Main Authors: Rajagopal, Sanjeevan, Thangudu, Suresh, Feng, June-Yen, Sriram, Pavithra, Yen, Ta-Jen, Hwang, Kuo Chu
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Electromagnetic radiation
Hot electrons
Irradiation
Near infrared radiation
Oxygen evolution reactions
Photocatalysis
Photocatalysts
Plasmonics
Water splitting
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Summary:Photo-induced electrochemical water splitting is a fascinating approach to overcome the present energy demands as well as environmental issues. To this end, near-infrared (NIR) photocatalysts stand out as promising candidates (where 53% of the solar light is NIR light) to solve the present energy crisis but the lack of NIR-activated photocatalysts has remained a great challenge for decades. Herein, for the first time, we report the synthesis of high-index faceted plasmonic Au nano-branched 12 tip nanostars, which can absorb the whole spectral region of electromagnetic radiation (UV-vis-NIR), for efficient water splitting. Moreover, the plasmonic hot spots on the Au 12 tip nanostars significantly promote the photoelectrochemical oxygen evolution reaction (OER) under NIR light (915 nm) with long-term stability. Remarkably, the Au 12 tip nanostars exhibit 250-fold enhancement of activity under 915 nm laser irradiation and 6.5-fold enhancement of activity under 532 nm laser irradiation, as compared to the Au NPs. Furthermore, the Finite-Difference Time-Domain (FDTD) study confirmed that the significant photoelectrochemical (PEC) enhancement in the NIR light region could be attributed to the hot-electron injection/plasmonic hot spot mechanism upon localized surface plasmonic resonance (LSPR) excitation. Overall, we anticipate that the present work would help to develop new NIR photoelectrocatalysts for meeting future energy demands. Near infrared light mediated photoelectrochemical oxygen evolution is demonstrated on novel Au 12 tip nanostructures for the first time.
ISSN:2040-3364
2040-3372
DOI:10.1039/d2nr02741k