Harnessing surface plasmon of metal nanostructures to promote catalytic organic synthesis holds great promise in solar-to-chemical energy conversion. High conversion efficiency relies not only on broadening the absorption spectrum but on coupling the harvested energy into chemical reactions. Such coupling undergoes hot-electron transfer and photothermal conversion during the decay of surface plasmon; however, the two plasmonic effects are unfortunately entangled, making their individual roles still under debate. Here, we report that in a model system of bimetallic Au-Pd core-shell nanostructures the two effects can be disentangled through tailoring the shell thickness at atomic-level precision. As demonstrated by our ultrafast absorption spectroscopy characterizations, the achieved tunability of the two effects in a model reaction of Pd-catalyzed organic hydrogenation offers a knob for enhancing energy coupling. In addition, the two intrinsic plasmonic modes at 400-700 and 700-1000 nm in the bar-shaped nanostructures allow for utilizing photons to a large extent in full solar spectrum. This work establishes a paradigmatic guidance toward designing plasmonic-catalytic nanomaterials for enhanced solar-to-chemical energy conversion.

Oxidation reactions by molecular oxygen (O2 ) over palladium (Pd)-based nanomaterials are a series of processes crucial to the synthesis of fine chemicals. In the past decades, investigations of related catalytic materials have mainly been focused on the synthesis of Pd-based nanomaterials from the angle of tailoring their surface structures, compositions and supporting materials, in efforts to improve their activities in organic reactions. From the perspective of rational materials design, it is imperative to address the fundamental issues associated with catalyst performance, one of which should be oxygen activation by Pd-based nanomaterials. Here, the fundamentals that account for the transformation from O2 to reactive oxygen species over Pd, with a focus on singlet O2 and its analogue, are introduced. Methods for detecting and differentiating species are also presented to facilitate future fundamental research. Key factors for tuning the oxygen activation efficiencies of catalytic materials are then outlined, and recent developments in Pd-catalyzed oxygen-related organic reactions are summarized in alignment with each key factor. To close, we discuss the challenges and opportunities for photocatalysis research at this unique intersection as well as the potential impact on other research fields.