Enhanced Electrocatalysis via Boosted Separation of Hot Charge Carriers of Plasmonic Gold Nanoparticles Deposited on Reduced Graphene Oxide

Abstract

Plasmon enhancement in electrocatalysis was investigated on pure Au nanoparticles (AuNPs) and an AuNPs-reduced graphene oxide (AuNPs/rGO) hybrid. Upon localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) excitation, hot charge carriers (hot electrons and holes) generate on the AuNPs. In the experiments, hot holes were scavenged by glucose and hot electrons could be efficiently transferred to the external electric circuit under a potential bias, resulting in an observable current enhancement. Then, the hot electrons' transfer efficiency can be quantitatively compared by the increased current response.It was found that the current density increased more obviously on the AuNPs/rGO hybrid than on pure AuNPs upon light irradiation. Due to the excellent electron mobility of rGO and the perfect electron affinity capacity, the hot electrons generated on AuNPs are efficiently transferred to the closely contacted rGO, then flow into the external circuit, generating current. The present study highlights the role of rGO in improving the separation of hot charge carriers to promote photocatalytic reactions.[a] X.

Hot Carriers and Photothermal Effects of Monolayer MoOx for Promoting Sulfite Oxidase Mimetic Activity

“…Plasmonic nanostructures are currently gaining tremendous attention owing to their strong and tunable light-harnessing capabilities, as a result of LSPR. , LSPR in plasmonic nanostructures can be either damped radiatively by re-emitting photons with dissipating energy by heat, or nonradiatively relaxation energy coupled with the generation of hot carriers (hot electron–hole pairs) via Landau damping. ,− The generation of hot carriers induced by LSPR can be directly utilized into activating the chemical transformations or generating local heat for immense applications, for instance, photothermal image and therapy. − Recently, LSPR-induced catalysis has gained great progress in photocatalysis, , photodetection, and even enzyme-like study. The nanostructures with the plasmonic nanostructure have been reported to accelerate the enzyme-like performance via the LSPR-generated hot carriers or photothermal excitation. ,,− The expanding of plasmonic-modulated nanozymes makes nanozymes distinct from other enzyme alternatives, considering their unique spatiotemporal controllability provided by LSPR. , …”

“…18,20−22 The generation of hot carriers induced by LSPR can be directly utilized into activating the chemical transformations or generating local heat for immense applications, for instance, photothermal image and therapy. 23 catalysis, 26,27 photodetection, 28 and even enzyme-like study.…”

Highly Sensitive and Selective Photoelectrochemical Aptasensor for Cancer Biomarker CA125 Based on AuNPs/GaN Schottky Junction

“…Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) have excellent photoelectric properties and characterization in AuNPs/semiconductor composites, such as excellent electrical conductivity, plasma resonance, catalytic activity, size/shape controllability, and biocompatibility. ,− The Fermi energy of AuNPs and the charge transfer efficiency of the AuNPs/semiconductor composites can be controlled by changing the size of the AuNPs, which has a significant effect to regulate properties of the composites . Moreover, the surface of AuNPs is easy to be modified, and the sulfhydryl compounds can be bonded to the surface of AuNPs via the Au–S bonds, which are beneficial to the surface functionalization of the material and the fabrication of sensors .…”

Promoting Electrocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution Reaction and Oxygen Evolution Reaction by Fields: Effects of Electric Field, Magnetic Field, Strain, and Light

“…By separating and directing them to the surface of catalysts, light illumination‐induced hot charge carriers can be coupled to various chemical/electrochemical reactions and accelerate the reaction rates. [ 181–183 ] In addition, sunlight is an environmentally friendly and inexhaustible resource in nature. Therefore, harvesting optical energy by grafting photosensitive materials onto catalysts represents a promising route to promote electrocatalytic HER/OER activity.…”