Nanoplasmonic zirconium nitride photocatalyst for direct overall water splitting

The ability of plasmonic nanostructures to efficiently harvest light energy and generate energetic hot carriers makes them promising materials for utilization in photocatalytic water spitting.Apart from the traditional Au and Ag based plasmonic photocatalysts,more recently the noble-metal-free alternative plasmonic materials have attracted ever-increasing interest.Here we report the first use of plasmonic zirconium nitride（ZrN） nanoparticles as a promising photocatalyst for water splitting.Highl...     

Direct Photocatalysis for Organic Synthesis by Using Plasmonic‐Metal Nanoparticles Irradiated with Visible Light

Recent advances in direct‐use plasmonic‐metal nanoparticles (NPs) as photocatalysts to drive organic synthesis reactions under visible‐light irradiation have attracted great interest. Plasmonic‐metal NPs are characterized by their strong interaction with visible light through excitation of the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR). Herein, we review recent developments in direct photocatalysis using plasmonic‐metal NPs and their applications. We focus on the role played by the LSPR of the metal NPs in catalyzing organic transformations and, more broadly, the role that light irradiation plays in catalyzing the reactions. Through this, the reaction mechanisms that these light‐excited energetic electrons promote will be highlighted. This review will be of particular interest to researchers who are designing and fabricating new plasmonic‐metal NP photocatalysts by identifying important reaction mechanisms that occur through light irradiation.     

Nanostructured materials with localized surface plasmon resonance for photocatalysis

Localized surface plasmon resonance（LSPR） enhanced photocatalysis has fascinated much interest and considerable efforts have been devoted toward the development of plasmonic photocatalysts.In the past decades,noble metal nanoparticles（Au and Ag） with LSPR feature have found wide applications in solar energy conversion.Numerous metal-based photocatalysts have been proposed including metal/semiconductor heterostructures and plasmonic bimetallic or multimetallic nanostructures.However,high cost and...     

Plasmonic Ag/AgBr nanohybrid: synergistic effect of SPR with photographic sensitivity for enhanced photocatalytic activity and stability

A plasmonic Ag/AgBr nanohybrid has been synthesized by in situ thermal reduction of AgBr nanoparticles in polyols. This directly converted Ag/AgBr shows significant absorption over the full visible spectrum. The enhanced light absorption in the spectral region of 450 nm to 800 nm was due to the plasmonic nanosized Ag grown on the surface of AgBr nanoparticles with mixed morphologies and increased sizes. Under visible light irradiation, the plasmonic Ag/AgBr exhibits high activity and stability for the photodegradation of organic pollutants, e.g. methylene blue. The contribution of the SPR and its synergistic effect with the photosensitive AgBr in the photocatalytic activity were verified. Based on the plasmon-mediated charge injection and the band structure of the metal-semiconductor heterojunction, a mechanism of the plasmon synergistically enhanced photocatalytic process was proposed.     

New insight into daylight photocatalysis of AgBr@Ag: synergistic effect between semiconductor photocatalysis and plasmonic photocatalysis

Noble metal nanoparticles (NPs) are often used as electron scavengers in conventional semiconductor photocatalysis to suppress electron-hole (e(-)-h(+) ) recombination and promote interfacial charge transfer, and thus enhance photocatalytic activity of semiconductors. In this contribution, it is demonstrated that noble metal NPs such as Ag NPs function as visible-light harvesting and electron-generating centers during the daylight photocatalysis of AgBr@Ag. Novel Ag plasmonic photocatalysis could cooperate with the conventional AgBr semiconductor photocatalysis to enhance the overall daylight activity of AgBr@Ag greatly because of an interesting synergistic effect. After a systematic investigation of the daylight photocatalysis mechanism of AgBr@Ag, the synergistic effect was attributed to surface plasmon resonance induced local electric field enhancement on Ag, which can accelerate the generation of e(-)-h(+) pairs in AgBr, so that more electrons are produced in the conduction band of AgBr under daylight irradiation. This study provides new insight into the photocatalytic mechanism of noble metal/semiconductor systems as well as the design and fabrication of novel plasmonic photocatalysts.     

Plasmonic photocatalytic system using silver chloride/silver nanostructures under visible light

Plasmonic photocatalytic nanostructured system was investigated on silver chloride/silver nanoparticles under visible light. Silver chloride/silver nanoparticles were readily prepared using dispersing agent and light irradiation. The d-spacing analysis, high resolution-transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction analysis and diffuse-reflectance spectroscopy demonstrated that silver nanoparticles were introduced on the surface of silver chloride nanoparticles and then silver chloride/silver nanostructured photocatalytic materials were successfully synthesized. The as-synthesized plasmonic photocatalysts exhibited the enhanced photocatalytic performance over nitrogen-doped titania nanomaterials. The improved catalytic activity was originated from the enhanced adsorption for visible light, electron–hole separation, and the formation of chloride atoms in silver chloride/silver nanostructured materials.     

可见光驱动Au/SrTiO3纳米等离子体光催化剂分解水制氢

采用水热法和光沉积法制备了Au/SrTiO_3纳米等离子体光催化剂。通过XRD、XPS、SEM、TEM、EDS和DRS等技术对光催化剂的结构、组成、形貌、粒子大小和光吸收性质等进行了表征,考察了Au/SrTiO_3纳米光催化剂在可见光照下的制氢性能。结果表明,采用水热法成功合成了SrTiO_3纳米粒子,通过负载Au纳米粒子后,由于表面等离子体共振效应,增强了其对可见光的吸收。此外,测试了不同Au负载量对SrTiO_3光催化剂在可见光照下制氢活性的影响,其中,5%Au/SrTiO_3光催化剂在可见光照下制氢活性最高,并对其光催化反应机理进行了进一步的探讨。     

基于等离激元热电子调控的全谱光催化产氢增强（英文）

等离激元效应在光催化体系中的集成为实现广谱光吸收提供了一个新的途径,然而等离激元热电子的较低迁移率和不确定扩散方向使得其光催化效率仍较低.等离激元金属与n型半导体接触后,其界面间会形成肖特基结.在特定波长太阳光照射下,等离激元金属将其表面等离子体能量聚集在表面自由电子上,进而产生热电子.当这些热电子具有的能量高于肖特基势垒时,热电子便可注入到半导体导带上.与此同时,半导体上的电子可以通过肖特基接触发生回流,与金属上的空穴复合,进而降低半导体-等离激元金属复合材料的光催化性能.因此,为了提高光催化效率,如何调控等离激元热电子迁移和充分利用等离激元效应是一个重要挑战.本文尝试将"表面异质结"与肖特基结相结合的复合结构,得以有效地调控等离激元热电子的迁移.在该复合结构中,金纳米颗粒和铂纳米颗粒分别作为等离激元吸光单元和助催化剂,集成在TiO_2纳米片表面.其中"表面异质结"是由TiO_2纳米片的两种不同表面晶面所构成,我们选择由{001}和{101}两组晶面组成的TiO_2纳米片作为半导体衬底.该结构中的{001}晶面导带能级高于{101}导带能级,因而电子由高能级的{001}流向低能级的{101}晶面,可以用来引导等离激元热电子从可见光响应的金纳米颗粒向TiO_2进行高效转移.通过巯基丙酸的桥联作用,将等离激元Au纳米颗粒锚定在TiO_2纳米片的{001}晶面上,获得Au-TiO_2{001}样品.另一方面,利用TiO_2纳米片自身光生电荷导向性光沉积,得到与{101}晶面结合形成的Au-TiO_2{101}样品.我们对两组样品进行光电流和光催化产氢实验对比,确认在"表面异质结"诱导下Au-TiO_2{001}样品中Au产生的光生热电子可以更好地注入到TiO_2纳米片导带上.我们进一步通过光沉积Pt纳米颗粒来判定光生电子所能到达的区域,验证了以上结论.与此同时,肖特基结由铂纳米颗粒与TiO_2纳米片所形成,可以促使电子由TiO_2向铂纳米颗粒进行转移,而避免发生向金纳米颗粒的反向迁移,从而在Au-TiO_2体系中实现高效的单向载流子转移.基于该设计,等离激元光催化剂实现了明显改善的全谱光催化产氢性能.本文为全谱光催化的复合结构理性设计提供了一个新的思路.     

NIR-plasmon-enhanced Systems for Energy Conversion and Environmental Remediation

The introduction of plasmons is an important method to solve the insufficient utilization of the full spectrum of solar energy by semiconductor catalysts. However, semiconductor catalysts combined with traditional noble metal plasmons(Au, Ag) can only extend the absorption spectrum to partially visible light. In order to further improve the photoenergy absorption efficiency of catalysts, they need to be able to effectively utilize near-infrared light, which has become a new research direction. Recent studies have shown that traditional noble metal plasmons can absorb a part of NIR through special morphology, size control and material composite. At the same time, gratifying achievements have been made in the application of plasmonic semiconductors with broad spectrum absorption in catalysis. This article reviews the principles of generating and regulating plasmonic effects in different catalytic systems. The applications of plasmon absorption of near-infrared light in energy conversion and environmental remediation have also been presented.     

金纳米颗粒在等离子体共振光催化剂中的作用机理研究

金纳米颗粒在等离子体共振光催化剂中具有多种不同的作用机理。本文采用溶胶-凝胶法合成了氮/碳共掺杂超薄二氧化钛(D-TiO₂)包覆的SiO₂/Au/D-TiO₂三明治型及SiO₂/D-TiO₂核壳纳米结构材料,对金纳米颗粒在含有可见光响应型半导体的等离子体共振光催化剂光催化分解水制氢反应中的作用机理进行了探索。研究结果表明,在该等离子体共振光催化剂的光催化反应过程中,金纳米颗粒同时体现出肖特基效应和等离子体共振效应作用机理,且作用机理与光生载流子的多少以及金纳米颗粒的负载量有关。负载量较低时,金纳米颗粒的作用机理与光生载流子的多少有关。而在高负载量条件下,金纳米颗粒在可见光照射下主要表现出肖特基效应对光催化活性的影响。     

Supported noble metal nanoparticles as photo/sono-catalysts for synthesis of chemicals and degradation of pollutants

This review summarizes the utilization of supported noble metal nanoparticles (such as Au/TiO2, Au/ZrO2, Ag/AgCl) as efficient photo/sono-catalysts for the selective synthesis of chemicals and degradation of environmental pollutants. Supported noble metal nanoparticles could efficiently catalyze the conversion of solar energy into chemical energy. Under UV/visible light irradiation, important chemical transformations such as the oxidation of alcohols to carbonyl compounds, the oxidation of thiol to disulfid...     

具有异质结的铋系光催化剂研究进展

由于人类面临的能源危机与环境污染问题日益严重,光催化技术作为最有可能解决这两大问题的技术而备受关注。其中,光催化剂是光催化技术的核心。开发具有宽光谱响应、高载流子分离效率的光催化剂既是研究热点也是难点。铋系光催化剂具有较强的可见光吸收能力。但是,提高铋系光催化剂对入射光的吸收效率、降低光生载流子复合效率仍是提高其光催化活性的关键。目前主要通过以下策略来解决这些问题：(1)贵金属负载,(2)半导体复合,(3)金属/非金属掺杂,(4)碳材料修饰,(5)铋金属负载等。最后还简要探讨了具有异质结的铋系光催化剂的发展趋势及其潜在应用。
　　采用贵金属负载于铋系光催化剂(构建肖特基结),可以通过等离子体共振效应拓宽铋系光催化剂的光吸收范围,同时贵金属还能有效转移半导体上的光生电子,促进光生载流子的有效分离。但是,采用贵金属负载存在昂贵、容易发生团聚等不足。通过半导体之间构建紧密异质结,不仅可以调节所制备复合催化剂的能带结构,满足不同光催化反应的要求,而且由于内电场的存在可以促进光生载流子定向转移,从而提高光生载流子的分离效率。除此之外,通过杂原子掺杂可以在原子层面上构建异质结结构,也能有效抑制光生载流子的复合。近年来,通过与具有较好导电性能的碳材料复合,可以快速转移铋系半导体上产生的光子,提高光催化剂的活性和量子效率。铋纳米颗粒具有与贵金属类似的性能,通过采用铋金属对铋系半导体进行负载也可以发生等离子体共振效应,从而可以提高铋系半导体的活性。最后,作者展望了铋系半导体复合光催化剂发展的三个重要方向：(1)创制非化学计量比的铋系半导体复合光催化材料;(2)通过与还原能力更强的半导体构建复合光催化材料,实现光催化 CO2还原制备有机物和光催化全解水的应用中去;(3)充分利用铋系半导体化合物具有较强氧化能力的优点,将其应用于光催化有机物合成中,比如光催化甲苯类有机物选择性氧化等。     

Copper Nanoparticles on Graphene Support: An Efficient Photocatalyst for Coupling of Nitroaromatics in Visible Light

Copper is a low‐cost plasmonic metal. Efficient photocatalysts of copper nanoparticles on graphene support are successfully developed for controllably catalyzing the coupling reactions of aromatic nitro compounds to the corresponding azoxy or azo compounds under visible‐light irradiation. The coupling of nitrobenzene produces azoxybenzene with a yield of 90 % at 60 °C, but azobenzene with a yield of 96 % at 90 °C. When irradiated with natural sunlight (mean light intensity of 0.044 W cm⁻²) at about 35 °C, 70 % of the nitrobenzene is converted and 57 % of the product is azobenzene. The electrons of the copper nanoparticles gain the energy of the incident light through a localized surface plasmon resonance effect and photoexcitation of the bound electrons. The excited energetic electrons at the surface of the copper nanoparticles facilitate the cleavage of the N O bonds in the aromatic nitro compounds. Hence, the catalyzed coupling reaction can proceed under light irradiation and moderate conditions. This study provides a green photocatalytic route for the production of azo compounds and highlights a potential application for graphene.     

Light‐Gated Synthetic Protocells for Plasmon‐Enhanced Chemiosmotic Gradient Generation and ATP Synthesis

Herein, we present a light‐gated protocell model made of plasmonic colloidal capsules (CCs) assembled with bacteriorhodopsin for converting solar energy into electrochemical gradients to drive the synthesis of energy‐storage molecules. This synthetic protocell incorporated an important intrinsic property of noble metal colloidal particles, namely, plasmonic resonance. In particular, the near‐field coupling between adjacent metal nanoparticles gave rise to strongly localized electric fields and resulted in a broad absorption in the whole visible spectra, which in turn promoted the flux of photons to bacteriorhodopsin and accelerated the proton pumping kinetics. The cell‐like potential of this design was further demonstrated by leveraging the outward pumped protons as “chemical signals” for triggering ATP biosynthesis in a coexistent synthetic protocell population. Hereby, we lay the ground work for the engineering of colloidal supraparticle‐based synthetic protocells with higher‐order functionalities.     

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.     

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.     

Metal Complexes Supported on Solid Matrices for Visible‐Light‐Driven Molecular Transformations

Hybridization of visible‐light‐responsive metal complexes with solid matrices offers an attractive route for practical catalyst design of nanostructured photocatalysts that are operationally simple and can attain unprecedented reactions owing to synergistic effects. This Minireview highlights the precise architectures of hybrid photocatalysts that enable efficient and selective photochemical molecular transformations, including selective oxidation by O₂ and H₂ evolution from water. Several techniques for the immobilization of metal complexes are discussed, including encapsulation within zeolite cavities, anchoring within mesoporous channels, incorporation within the macroreticular space of ion‐exchange resins, intercalation within the interlayer spaces of layered materials, and anchoring onto the plasmonic colloidal Ag nanoparticles. The relationships between photoluminescence characteristics and photocatalytic activities of these hybrid materials are also discussed.     

Visible light-excited surface plasmon resonance charge transfer significantly improves the photocatalytic activities of ZnO semiconductor for pollutants degradation

To effectively address environmental pollution, we synthesized Au-loaded ZnO nanocomposites and applied for the photocatalytic degradation of 2-chlorophenol (2-CP) under visible light irradiation. The as-prepared nanophotocatalysts delivered much improved photocatalytic degradation activities as compared to the bare ZnO nanoparticles and 32% of the pollutant was degraded with 2AuZnO in 1 hr. These improved photoactivities are attributed to the extended visible light absorption due to the surface plasmon resonance property of the loaded Au nanoparticles. Moreover, Au nanoparticles played important role in charge separation by inducting excited electrons to the conduction band of ZnO photocatalyst and surface catalysis as confirmed from photoluminescence spectra and amount of the generated hydroxyl radicals. The trapping experiments confirmed that positive holes were the major degrading species during the photocatalytic degradation of 2-CP. This work provides a feasible way to improve the photocatalysis by introducing a proper amount of noble metals over the surface of semiconductor photocatalysts.     

可调控且稳定的SrMoO4等离激元共振用于增强的可见光驱动的氮还原

光催化固氮是最具潜力的人工光合过程之一,也是有望取代工业Haber-Bosch方法实现氨的绿色合成的清洁能源技术之一.由于氮气分子还原为氨需要较高的还原电位,导致大部分常规的半导体材料的导带能级不能满足固氮反应的热力学要求.同时,固氮光催化剂普遍存在光响应波段窄、表面催化活性低、太阳光向氨的转化效率低等问题.缺陷工程是目前制备高效固氮光催化剂的最有效的途径之一.在催化剂中引入缺陷可以带来两个方面的好处:(1)促进氮气分子在缺陷位点上的化学吸附和活化,从而降低反应能垒;(2)拓宽催化剂的太阳光响应波段,提高对太阳光的利用效率.等离激元效应来自于自由载流子的集体振荡,广泛存在于金属纳米结构中.尽管金属等离激元纳米材料在光催化中也有广泛的应用,可以通过等离激元增强的光吸收和散射、热载流子传输以及等离激元共振能量传递等机理提高太阳能转化效率,但其能量转化效率仍有限,多用于弥补半导体材料的弱点.研究发现,一些半导体纳米材料在可见光和近红外光范围表现出优异的等离激元共振吸收.相比等离激元金属纳米材料,这些半导体的等离激元共振效应的调控手段更加丰富.等离激元半导体材料普遍具有较高的缺陷浓度、非常宽的光响应波段,因而是理想的固氮光催化剂.本文利用具有还原性的气氛处理溶剂热法制备的SrMoO4,通过引入高浓度的氧空位,实现了可调控的稳定的等离激元共振吸收.制备的SrMoO4在可见光和近红外光范围具有强的等离激元吸收,其共振吸收峰的中心位置可从520调到815 nm,显著拓宽了SrMoO4的光响应波段,而样品的本征吸收边仍然位于310 nm.研究发现,氢气还原没有改变Sr的氧化态,而是将Mo6+还原成Mo5+.紫外光电子能谱分析结果表明,高温氢气处理没有改变SrMoO4样品的导带和价带能级.电子顺磁共振研究结果表明,氢气处理在SrMoO4中形成了大量的氧空位.Mott-Schottky测试结果发现,氢气处理后的样品的载流子浓度高达～2.0×1020 cm-3.具有等离激元效应的SrMoO4表现出优异的可见光固氮性能,相比不具有等离激元效应的SrMoO4,在入射光波长大于420 nm的可见光照射下,在氢气气氛中处理10 min,3,6和8h的SrMoO4样品的氨的产率分别为41.2,36.3,24.5和20.8 μg gcat-1 h-1.其增强光催化活性主要来源于更宽的太阳光吸收波段、等离激元激发产生的热载流子和丰富的缺陷活性位点.一方面,SrMoO4具有较高的导带能级,本征激发形成的导带电子能在热力学上将氮气分子还原为氨;另一方面,等离激元激发产生的热载流子具有较高的能量,能够越过固液界面的肖特基能垒,将吸附在催化剂表面缺陷处的氮气分子还原为氨.但是,尽管缺陷在光催化固氮中展现出多方面的优点,其在半导体中的浓度仍需进一步的优化.     

Plasmonic photoelectrochemical reactions on noble metal electrodes of nanostructures

Plasmonic noble metal nanostructures have been targeted due to their strong surface plasmon resonance at photoelectrochemical interfaces. Recently, it has been concluded that, the plasmonic noble metal nanostructures on photoexcitation permit the transfer of effective hot carriers (hot electron/hole pair) to nearby adsorbed molecules where, the transformed hot carriers can efficiently decrease the activation barrier of a reaction. In this review, our recent achievements in the plasmon-mediated chemical reactions of organic molecules such as para-aminothiophenol, substituted para-aminothiophenol and para-nitrothiophenol at nanostructures modified noble metal electrodes using surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy, electrochemical methods, and theoretical calculations will be discussed.