Bio‐Inspired Plasmonic Photocatalysts

Abstract

The conversion of solar energy to sustainable energy sources is a significant field of study for the relief of the world's energy problems, and among the various strategies developed, semiconductor photocatalysts have received significant attention as a promising candidate due to their attractive efficiency, mild reaction conditions, and low cost. The enhancement of such photocatalysts with plasmonic materials, by virtue of the Schottky junction and localized surface plasma resonance phenomenon, could facilitate the rapid progress in enhancement of photocatalytic efficiency under visible light irradiation. To further improve photocatalytic efficiency, scientists look to nature for inspiration, culminating in the evolution of complex hierarchical structures in order to fully utilize the potential of solar energy. In the past decade, there has been significant progress in the development of bio‐inspired plasmonic photocatalysts, such as antireflective surfaces, 3D photonic structures, and branched structures. This review describes the state‐of‐the‐art bio‐inspired light manipulation approaches, as well as future challenges in solar energy harvesting by plasmonic photocatalysts.

Butterfly wing architectures inspire sensor and energy applications

“…The porous architectures permit penetration of semiconductors into the gaps for easy replication. Also, their large surface area has numerous active sites for rapid charge transfer kinetics [ 147 , 148 ]. Hence, butterfly wing inspired energy materials exhibit easy fabrication, low cost, ecological friendliness and good stimuli responsiveness [ 8 ].…”

“…Equally, the architectures have many active sites due to the large surface area for rapid charge transfer kinetics [ 148 , 154 ]. Therefore, current research focuses on increasing the photocatalyst surface area and enhancing photocatalytic efficiency through inhibition of electron-hole pair recombination and improvement of photoactivity [ 147 ].…”

BiOCOOH Microflowers Decorated with Ag/Ag2CrO4 Nanoparticles as Highly Efficient Photocatalyst for the Treatment of Toxic Wastewater

“…On account of the above characterization and analysis, a probable mechanism for the drastically elevated photocatalytic ability of Ag/Ag 2 CrO 4 /BiOCOOH is put forward (Figure 11). The remarkable photocatalytic activity of Ag/Ag 2 CrO 4 /BiOCOOH principally arises from the novel hierarchical heterostructure, which achieves an appreciable improvement of light absorption ( Figure 5) and carrier separation ( Figure 10) [2,[45][46][47][48]. Upon simulated solar illumination, both BiOCOOH and Ag 2 CrO 4 are excited to trigger the production of electrons and holes on the corresponding CB and VB, respectively.…”

Recent advances in gold nanoparticles for biomedical applications: from hybrid structures to multi-functionality

“…size, shape and symmetry), the material composition and distribution within a NP, as well as the overall arrangement of NPs within an ensemble or array. 13,14 In particular, dipolar LSPR of individual spherical Au NPs occurs in the visible region of B520-540 nm and can be shifted to the NIR region in the case of elongated NPs (i.e. large shape anisotropy) or assemblies of NPs with nano-spacing.…”