Probing the Catalytic Activity of Reduced Graphene Oxide Decorated with Au Nanoparticles Triggered by Visible Light

Hybrid materials in which reduced graphene oxide (rGO) is decorated with Au nanoparticles (rGO–Au NPs) were obtained by the in situ reduction of GO and AuCl₄^?_(aq) by ascorbic acid. On laser excitation, rGO could be oxidized as a result of the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) excitation in the Au NPs, which generates activated O₂ through the transfer of SPR‐excited hot electrons to O₂ molecules adsorbed from air. The SPR‐mediated catalytic oxidation of p‐aminothiophenol (PATP) to p,p′‐dimercaptoazobenzene (DMAB) was then employed as a model reaction to probe the effect of rGO as a support for Au NPs on their SPR‐mediated catalytic activities. The increased conversion of PATP to DMAB relative to individual Au NPs indicated that charge‐transfer processes from rGO to Au took place and contributed to improved SPR‐mediated activity. Since the transfer of electrons from Au to adsorbed O₂ molecules is the crucial step for PATP oxidation, in addition to the SPR‐excited hot electrons of Au NPs, the transfer of electrons from rGO to Au contributed to increasing the electron density of Au above the Fermi level and thus the Au‐to‐O₂ charge‐transfer process.     

Visible‐Light‐Induced Electron Transport from Small to Large Nanoparticles in Bimodal Gold Nanoparticle‐Loaded Titanium(IV) Oxide

A key to realizing the sustainable society is to develop highly active photocatalysts for selective organic synthesis effectively using sunlight as the energy source. Recently, metal‐oxide‐supported gold nanoparticles (NPs) have emerged as a new type of visible‐light photocatalysts driven by the excitation of localized surface plasmon resonance of Au NPs. Here we show that visible‐light irradiation (λ>430 nm) of TiO₂‐supported Au NPs with a bimodal size distribution (BM‐Au/TiO₂) gives rise to the long‐range (>40 nm) electron transport from about 14 small (ca. 2 nm) Au NPs to one large (ca. 9 nm) Au NP through the conduction band of TiO₂. As a result of the enhancement of charge separation, BM‐Au/TiO₂ exhibits a high level of visible‐light activity for the one‐step synthesis of azobenzenes from nitrobenzenes at 25 °C with a yield greater than 95 % and a selectivity greater than 99 %, whereas unimodal Au/TiO₂ (UM‐Au/TiO₂) is photocatalytically inactive.     

Plasmonic Nanorattles as Next‐Generation Catalysts for Surface Plasmon Resonance‐Mediated Oxidations Promoted by Activated Oxygen

Nanorattles, comprised of a nanosphere inside a nanoshell, were employed as the next generation of plasmonic catalysts for oxidations promoted by activated O₂. After investigating how the presence of a nanosphere inside a nanoshell affected the electric‐field enhancements in the nanorattle relative to a nanoshell and a nanosphere, the SPR‐mediated oxidation of p‐aminothiophenol (PATP) functionalized at their surface was investigated to benchmark how these different electric‐field intensities affected the performances of Au@AgAu nanorattles, AgAu nanoshells and Au nanoparticles having similar sizes. The high performance of the nanorattles enabled the visible‐light driven synthesis of azobenzene from aniline under ambient conditions. As the nanorattles allow the formation of electromagnetic hot spots without relying on the uncontrolled aggregation of nanostructures, it enables their application as catalysts in liquid phase under mild conditions using visible light as the main energy input.     

Correlation of the Catalytic Activity for Oxidation Taking Place on Various TiO2 Surfaces with Surface OH Groups and Surface Oxygen Vacancies

Three catalytic oxidation reactions have been studied: The ultraviolet (UV) light induced photocatalytic decomposition of the synthetic dye sulforhodamine B (SRB) in the presence of TiO₂ nanostructures in water, together with two reactions employing Au/TiO₂ nanostructure catalysts, namely, CO oxidation in air and the decomposition of formaldehyde under visible light irradiation. Four kinds of TiO₂ nanotubes and nanorods with different phases and compositions were prepared for this study, and gold nanoparticle (Au‐NP) catalysts were supported on some of these TiO₂ nanostructures (to form Au/TiO₂ catalysts). FTIR emission spectroscopy (IES) measurements provided evidence that the order of the surface OH regeneration ability of the four types of TiO₂ nanostructures studied gave the same trend as the catalytic activities of the TiO₂ nanostructures or their respective Au/TiO₂ catalysts for the three oxidation reactions. Both IES and X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) proved that anatase TiO₂ had the strongest OH regeneration ability among the four types of TiO₂ phases or compositions. Based on these results, a model for the surface OH group generation, absorption, and activation of molecular oxygen has been proposed: The oxygen vacancies at the bridging O^2? sites on TiO₂ surfaces dissociatively absorb water molecules to form OH groups that facilitate adsorption and activation of O₂ molecules in nearby oxygen vacancies by lowering the absorption energy of molecular O₂. A new mechanism for the photocatalytic formaldehyde decomposition with the Au/TiO₂ catalysts is also proposed, based on the photocatalytic activity of the Au‐NPs under visible light. The Au‐NPs absorb the light owing to the surface plasmon resonance effect and mediate the electron transfers that the reaction needs.     

Size‐Dependence of the Activity of Gold Nanoparticle‐Loaded Titanium(IV) Oxide Plasmonic Photocatalyst for Water Oxidation

Mesoporous TiO₂ nanocrystalline film was formed on fluorine‐doped tin oxide electrode (TiO₂/FTO) and gold nanoparticles (NPs) of different sizes were loaded onto the surface with the loading amount kept constant (Au/TiO₂/FTO). Visible‐light irradiation (λ>430 nm) of the Au/TiO₂/FTO photoanode in a photoelectrochemical cell with the structure of photoanode|0.1 m NaClO4 aqueous solution|Ag/AgCl (reference electrode)|glassy carbon (cathode) leads to the oxidation of water to oxygen (O₂). We show that the visible‐light activity of the Au/TiO₂/FTO anode increases with a decrease in Au particle size (d) at 2.9≤d≤11.9 nm due to the enhancement of the charge separation and increasing photoelectrocatalytic activity.     

Constructing Ordered Three‐Dimensional TiO2 Channels for Enhanced Visible‐Light Photocatalytic Performance in CO2 Conversion Induced by Au Nanoparticles

As a typical photocatalyst for CO₂ reduction, practical applications of TiO₂ still suffer from low photocatalytic efficiency and limited visible‐light absorption. Herein, a novel Au‐nanoparticle (NP)‐decorated ordered mesoporous TiO₂ (OMT) composite (OMT‐Au) was successfully fabricated, in which Au NPs were uniformly dispersed on the OMT. Due to the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) effect derived from the excited Au NPs, the TiO₂ shows high photocatalytic performance for CO₂ reduction under visible light. The ordered mesoporous TiO₂ exhibits superior material and structure, with a high surface area that offers more catalytically active sites. More importantly, the three‐dimensional transport channels ensure the smooth flow of gas molecules, highly efficient CO₂ adsorption, and the fast and steady transmission of hot electrons excited from the Au NPs, which lead to a further improvement in the photocatalytic performance. These results highlight the possibility of improving the photocatalysis for CO₂ reduction under visible light by constructing OMT‐based Au‐SPR‐induced photocatalysts.     

Prolonged Hot Electron Dynamics in Plasmonic‐Metal/Semiconductor Heterostructures with Implications for Solar Photocatalysis

Ideal solar‐to‐fuel photocatalysts must effectively harvest sunlight to generate significant quantities of long‐lived charge carriers necessary for chemical reactions. Here we demonstrate the merits of augmenting traditional photoelectrochemical cells with plasmonic nanoparticles to satisfy these daunting photocatalytic requirements. Electrochemical techniques were employed to elucidate the mechanics of plasmon‐mediated electron transfer within Au/TiO₂ heterostructures under visible‐light (λ>515 nm) irradiation in solution. Significantly, we discovered that these transferred electrons displayed excited‐state lifetimes two orders of magnitude longer than those of electrons photogenerated directly within TiO₂ via UV excitation. These long‐lived electrons further enable visible‐light‐driven H₂ evolution from water, heralding a new photocatalytic paradigm for solar energy conversion.     

Carbon Monoxide Oxidation by Polyoxometalate‐Supported Gold Nanoparticulate Catalysts: Activity,Stability, and Temperature‐ Dependent Activation Properties

Nanoparticulate gold supported on a Keggin‐type polyoxometalate (POM), Cs₄[α‐SiW₁₂O₄₀]?n H₂O, was prepared by the sol immobilization method. The size of the gold nanoparticles (NPs) was approximately 2 nm, which was almost the same as the size of the gold colloid precursor. Deposition of gold NPs smaller than 2 nm onto POM (Au/POM) was essential for a high catalytic activity for CO oxidation. The temperature for 50 % CO conversion was ?67 °C. The catalyst showed extremely high stability for at least one month at 0 °C with full conversion. The catalytic activity and the reaction mechanism drastically changed at temperatures higher than 40 °C, showing a unique behavior called a U‐shaped curve. It was revealed by IR measurement that Au^δ+ was a CO adsorption site and that adsorbed water promoted CO oxidation for the Au/POM catalyst. This is the first report on CO oxidation utilizing Au/POMs catalysts, and there is a potential for expansion to various gas‐phase reactions.     

The Polarization Effect in Surface‐Plasmon‐Induced Photocatalysis on Au/TiO2 Nanoparticles

Controlling the interaction of polarization light with an asymmetric nanostructure such as a metal/semiconductor heterostructure provides opportunities for tuning surface plasmon excitation and near‐field spatial distribution. However, light polarization effects on interfacial charge transport and the photocatalysis of plasmonic metal/semiconductor photocatalysts are unclear. Herein, we reveal the polarization dependence of plasmonic charge separation and spatial distribution in Au/TiO₂ nanoparticles under 45° incident light illumination at the single‐particle level using a combination of photon‐irradiated Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM) and electromagnetic field simulation. We quantitatively uncover the relationship between the local charge density and polarization angle by investigating the polarization‐dependent surface photovoltage (SPV). The plasmon‐induced photocatalytic activity is enhanced when the polarization direction is perpendicular to the Au/TiO₂ interface.     

A Blinking Mesoporous TiO2−x Composed of Nanosized Anatase with Unusually Long‐Lived Trapped Charge Carriers

A mesoporous TiO_2?x material comprised of small, crystalline, vacancy‐rich anatase nanoparticles (NPs) shows unique optical, thermal, and electronic properties. It is synthesized using polymer‐derived mesoporous carbon (PDMC) as a template. The PDMC pores serve as physical barriers during the condensation and pyrolysis of a titania precursor, preventing the titania NPs from growing beyond 10 nm in size. Unlike most titania nanomaterials, during pyrolysis the NPs undergo no transition from the anatase to rutile phase and they become catalytically active reduced TiO_2?x. When exposed to a slow electron beam, the NPs exhibit a charge/discharge behavior, lighting up and fading away for an average period of 15 s for an extended period of time. The NPs also show a 50 nm red‐shift in their UV/Vis absorption and long‐lived charge carriers (electrons and holes) at room temperature in the dark, even long after UV irradiation. The NPs as photocatalysts show a good activity for CO₂ reduction.     

Chloride‐Induced Highly Active Au Catalyst for Methyl Esterification of Alcohols

Chloride is generally regarded as a harmful species for the heterogeneous catalysts, especially Au catalysts. In this work, a series of active Au/NiO_x catalysts were successfully prepared with co‐precipitation method by tracking the concentrations of chloride in the re‐dispersed aqueous solutions. For methyl esterification of alcohols, the highest active Au/NiO_x catalysts could be prepared from aqueous solutions containing 8‐13 ppm chloride, the yield of methyl benzoate of catalyst Au/NiO_x‐9 was 99%. The catalyst structures and the role of chloride in catalysts were explored by ICP, BET, XPS, TEM and EXAFS characterizations. It was found that the appropriate amount of residual chloride in Au catalysts was beneficial to their catalytic activities. Especially for Au/NiO_x‐9, the appropriate amount of residual chloride had positive effects on the physicochemical properties of Au/NiO_x catalyst, the position of Au nanoparticles (NPs) located on NiO_x crystallites and the ratio of Au^δ+/Au⁰ in catalyst, which together resulted in its high reactivity.     

Activation of Oxygen on Gold and Silver Nanoparticles Assisted by Surface Plasmon Resonances

Surface plasmon resonances (SPRs) have been found to promote chemical reactions. In most oxidative chemical reactions oxygen molecules participate and understanding of the activation mechanism of oxygen molecules is highly important. For this purpose, we applied surface‐enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) to find out the mechanism of SPR‐assisted activation of oxygen, by using p‐aminothiophenol (PATP), which undergoes a SPR‐assisted selective oxidation, as a probe molecule. In this way, SPR has the dual function of activating the chemical reaction and enhancing the Raman signal of surface species. Both experiments and DFT calculations reveal that oxygen molecules were activated by accepting an electron from a metal nanoparticle under the excitation of SPR to form a strongly adsorbed oxygen molecule anion. The anion was then transformed to Au or Ag oxides or hydroxides on the surface to oxidize the surface species, which was also supported by the heating effect of the SPR. This work points to a promising new era of SPR‐assisted catalytic reactions.     

One‐step Synthesis of AuAg Alloy Nanodots and its Electrochemical Studies towards Nitrobenzene Reduction and Sensing

Efficient, stable, and low‐cost electrocatalysts for the degradation and sensing of environment pollutants are essential components of clean environment monitoring. Here we report, one‐step synthesis and characterization of 1–3 nm diameter sized bi‐metallic AuAg nanodots (NDs) embedded in amine functionalized silicate sol‐gel matrix (SSG) and its electrochemical studies toward nitrobenzene. The SSG was used as a reducing agent as well as stabilizer for the prepared mono‐ and bi‐metallic nanoparticles (NPs). From the HRTEM, STEM‐EDS and XPS analyses, the bi‐metallic AuAg NDs were identified as an alloy and not the mixtures of Au and Ag NPs. Characteristic surface plasmon resonance (SPR) band between the Au and Ag NPs SPR absorption region was noticed for the prepared AuAg NDs. The AuAg alloy NDs with different concentrations of Au and Ag (Au₂₅Ag₇₅, Au₅₀Ag₅₀ and Au₇₅Ag₂₅ NDs) modified electrodes exhibited synergistic electrocatalytic effect than did the Au and Ag NPs towards nitrobenzene reduction and detection. Together with ultra‐small size and exceptional colloidal stability features within these SSG‐AuAg NDs pave convenient way for nanotechnology‐based catalysts development and sensor applications.     

Synthesis of Hollow Mesoporous TiO2 Microspheres with Single and Double Au Nanoparticle Layers for Enhanced Visible‐Light Photocatalysis

A facile method was used to prepare hollow mesoporous TiO₂ and Au@TiO₂ spheres using polystyrene (PS) templates. Au nanoparticles (NPs) were simultaneously synthesized and attached on the surface of PS spheres by reducing AuCl₄^? ions using sodium citrate which resulted in the uniform deposition of Au NPs. The outer coating of titania via sol‐gel produced PS@Au@TiO₂ core–shell spheres. Removing the templates from these core–shell spheres through calcination produced hollow mesoporous and crystalline Au@TiO₂ spheres with Au NPs inside the TiO₂ shell in a single step. Anatase spheres with double Au NPs layers, one inside and another outside of TiO₂ shell, were also prepared. Different characterization techniques indicated the hollow mesoporous and crystalline morphology of the prepared spheres with Au NPs. Hollow anatase spheres with Au NPs indicated enhanced harvesting of visible light and therefore demonstrated efficient catalytic activity toward the degradation of organic dyes under the irradiation of visible light as compared to bare TiO₂ spheres.     

Gold‐Nanoparticle‐Loaded Carbonate‐Modified Titanium(IV) Oxide Surface: Visible‐Light‐Driven Formation of Hydrogen Peroxide from Oxygen

Gold nanoparticle‐loaded rutile TiO₂ with a bimodal size distribution around 10.6 nm and 2.3 nm (BM‐Au/TiO₂) was prepared by the deposition precipitation and chemical reduction (DP‐CR) technique. Visible‐light irradiation (λ>430 nm) of the BM‐Au/TiO₂ plasmonic photocatalyst yields 35 μm H₂O₂ in aerated pure water at irradiation time (t_p)=1 h, and the H₂O₂ concentration increases to 640±60 μm by the addition of 4 % HCOOH as a sacrificing electron donor. Further, a carbonate‐modified surface BM‐Au/TiO₂ (BM‐Au/TiO₂‐CO₃^2?) generates a millimolar level of H₂O₂ at t_p=1 h with a quantum efficiency (Φ) of 5.4 % at λ=530 nm under the same conditions. The recycle experiments confirmed the stable performance of BM‐Au/TiO₂.     

Au‐TiO2/Graphene Nanocomposite Film for Electrochemical Sensing of Hydrogen Peroxide and NADH

We describe a simple method for preparing Au‐TiO₂/graphene (GR) nanocomposite by deposition of Au nanoparticles (NPs) on TiO₂/GR substrates. The as‐prepared Au‐TiO₂/GR was characterized by X‐ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The presence of Au NPs on TiO₂/GR surface remarkably improves the electrocatalytic activity towards the oxidation of hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) and β‐nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH). The Au‐TiO₂/GR modified glassy carbon (GC) electrode exhibits good amperometric response to H₂O₂ and NADH, with linear range from 10 to 200 µM and 10 to 240 µM, and detection limit of 0.7 and 0.2 µM, respectively.     

Robust Synthesis of Gold‐Based Multishell Structures as Plasmonic Catalysts for Selective Hydrogenation of 4‐Nitrostyrene

A robust self‐template strategy is used for facile and large‐scale synthesis of porous multishell gold with controllable shell number, sphere size, and in situ surface modification. The process involved the rapid reduction of novel Au‐melamine colloidal templates with a great amount of NaBH₄ in presence of poly(sodium‐p‐styrenesulfonate) (PSS). After soaking the templates in other metal salt solution, the obtained bimetallic templates could also be generally converted into bimetallic multishell structures by same reduction process. In the hydrogenation of 4‐nitrostyrene using NH₃BH₃ as a reducing agent, the porous triple‐shell Au with surface modification (S‐PTSAu) exhibited excellent selectivity (97 %) for 4‐aminostyrene in contrast with unmodified triple‐shell Au. Furthermore, it also showed higher enhancement of catalytic activity under irradiation of visible light as compared to similar catalysts with fewer shells.     

Multifunctional PES fabrics modified with colloidal Ag and TiO2 nanoparticles

This study is aimed to highlight the possibility of engineering the multifunctional textile nanocomposite material based on the polyester (PES) fabric modified with colloidal Ag and TiO₂ nanoparticles (NPs). The effects of concentration of NPs as well as the order of Ag and TiO₂ NPs loading on antimicrobial, UV protective, and photocatalytic properties of PES fabrics were examined. The antimicrobial activity of differently modified PES fabrics was tested against Gram‐negative bacterium Escherichia coli, Gram‐positive bacterium Staphylococcus aureus, and fungus Candida albicans. The concentration of Ag colloid and the order of Ag and TiO₂ NPs loading considerably affected the antimicrobial efficiency of PES fabrics. The fabrics provided maximum UV protection upon surface modification with Ag and TiO₂ NPs. Ag NPs enhanced Ag NPs enhanced the photodegradation activity of TiO₂ NPs and total photodegradation of methylene blue was achieved after 24 hr of UV illumination. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Au/TiO<Subscript>2</Subscript>/Graphene Composite with Enhanced Photocatalytic Activity Under Both UV and Visible Light Irradiation

Au/TiO₂/graphene composite was synthesized by the combination of electrostatic attraction and photo-reduction method. In the composite, graphene sheets act as an adsorption site for dye molecules to provide a high concentration of dye near to the TiO₂ and Au nanoparticles (NPs), and work as an excellent electron transporter to separate photoinduced e ^?/h ⁺ pairs. Under UV irradiation, photogenerated electrons of TiO₂ are transferred effectively to Au NPs and graphene sheets, respectively, retarding the recombination of electron–hole pairs. Under visible light irradiation, the Au NPs are photo-excited due to the surface plasmon resonance effect, and charge separation is accomplished by the interfacial electron injection from the Au NPs to the conduction band of TiO₂ and then transfer further to graphene sheets. As a result, compared with pure TiO₂, Au/TiO₂/graphene composite exhibited much higher photocatalytic activity for degradation of methylene blue under both UV and visible light irradiation, based on the synergistic effect of Au, graphene in contact with TiO₂, allowing response to the visible light, effective separation of photoinduced charges, and better adsorption of the dye molecules.     

Fabrication of Au‐Nanoparticle/TiO2‐Nanotubes Electrodes Using Electrochemical Methods and Their Application for Electrocatalytic Oxidation of Hydroquinone

Gold nanoparticle (Au‐NPs)‐Titanium oxide nanotube (TiO₂‐NTs) electrodes are prepared by using galvanic deposition of gold nanoparticles on TiO₂‐NTs electrodes as support. Scanning electron microscopy and energy‐dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy results indicate that nanotubular TiO₂ layers consist of individual tubes of about 60–90 nm diameters and gold nanoparticles are well‐dispersed on the surface of TiO₂‐NTs support. The electrooxidation of hydroquinone of Au‐NPs/TiO₂‐NTs electrodes is investigated by different electrochemical methods. Au‐NPs/TiO₂‐NTs electrode can be used repeatedly and exhibits stable electrocatalytic activity for the hydroquinone oxidation. Also, determination of hydroquinone in skin cream using this electrode was evaluated. Results were found to be satisfactory and no matrix effects are observed during the determination of hydroquinone content of the “skin cream” samples.