Physical Confinement Promoting Formation of Cu₂O–Au Heterostructures with Au Nanoparticles Entrapped within Crystalline Cu₂O Nanorods

Abstract

Abstract:Building on the application of cuprite (Cu 2 O) in solar energy technologies and reports of increased optical absorption caused by metal-to-semiconductor energy transfer, a confinement-based strategy was developed to fabricate high aspect ratio, crystalline Cu 2 O nanorods containing entrapped gold nanoparticles (Au nps). Cu 2 O was crystallized within the confines of track-etch membrane pores, where this physical, assembly-based method eliminates the necessity of specific chemical interactions to achieve a well-defined metalsemiconductor interface. With high-resolution scanning/transmission electron microscopy (S/TEM) and tomography, we demonstrate the encasement of the majority of Au nps by crystalline Cu 2 O and show that crystalline Au-Cu 2 O interfaces that are free of extended amorphous regions. Such nanocrystal heterostructures are good candidates for studying the transport physics of metal/semiconductor hybrids for optoelectronic applications.

Spatially Controlled Occlusion of Polymer‐Stabilized Gold Nanoparticles within ZnO

“…This was confirmed by XPS studies, which indicate a charge transfer interaction between Au and ZnO (Figure S10). In this context, it is perhaps noteworthy that Asenath‐Smith et al . also reported intimate contact between guest citrate‐stabilized AuNPs and host Cu 2 O crystals.…”

Anionic block copolymer vesicles act as Trojan horses to enable efficient occlusion of guest species into host calcite crystals

“…Nanoparticle occlusion within host crystals such as calcite, 1 – 5 ZnO 6 – 9 or Cu 2 O 10 , 11 is an emerging research topic of considerable growing interest. It offers a promising route to new classes of nanocomposite materials with enhanced mechanical or other physical properties, 12 , 13 as well as providing a useful model system to aid our understanding of biomineralization.…”

“…It offers a promising route to new classes of nanocomposite materials with enhanced mechanical or other physical properties, 12 , 13 as well as providing a useful model system to aid our understanding of biomineralization. 14 – 17 However, only nanoparticles with appropriate surface chemistry, 18 – 21 or when subjected to physical confinement, 10 , 11 can be incorporated within inorganic host crystals. Such constraints currently prevent broader application of this approach for the development of new classes of nanocomposite materials.…”

Seeded Growth of Au@CuxO Core–Shell Mesoporous Nanospheres and Their Photocatalytic Properties

“…Thanks to the research efforts from many groups. It is now possible to fabricate Au@Cu 2 O core-shell nanocrystals via a myriad of strategies, and the structure-performance relationship was established and investigated (Wang et al, 2008(Wang et al, , 2011(Wang et al, , 2016bPang et al, 2012b;Meir et al, 2013;Hsu et al, 2015;Huang et al, 2015;Asenath-Smith et al, 2017;Chen et al, 2018Chen et al, , 2019Zhu et al, 2020b). Recent progress has allowed the plasmon mode tuning of the Au@Cu 2 O core-shell GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT | Au@CuxO core-shell mesoporous nanospheres with tunable sizes are prepared, exhibiting superior activities in photodegradation of organic dyes.…”