Self‐Assembled Au/CdSe Nanocrystal Clusters for Plasmon‐Mediated Photocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution

Abstract

Plasmon-mediated photocatalytic systems generally suffer from poor efficiency due to weak absorption overlap and thus limited energy transfer between the plasmonic metal and the semiconductor. Herein, a near-ideal plasmon-mediated photocatalyst system is developed. Au/CdSe nanocrystal clusters (NCs) are successfully fabricated through a facile emulsion-based self-assembly approach, containing Au nanoparticles (NPs) of size 2.8, 4.6, 7.2, or 9.0 nm and CdSe quantum dots (QDs) of size ≈3.3 nm. Under visible-light irradiation, the Au/CdSe NCs with 7.2 nm Au NPs afford very stable operation and a remarkable H -evolution rate of 73 mmol gCdSe-1 h-1 (10× higher than bare CdSe NCs). Plasmon resonance energy transfer from the Au NPs to the CdSe QDs, which enhances charge-carrier generation in the semiconductor and suppresses bulk recombination, is responsible for the outstanding photocatalytic performance. The approach used here to fabricate the Au/CdSe NCs is suitable for the construction of other plasmon-mediated photocatalysts.

Photo‐assisted electrochemical hydrogen evolution by plasmonic Ag nanoparticle/nanorod heterogeneity

“…Back to the catalytic performances of all the three ANS samples under full‐spectrum LED, the limited improvement in the HER activity of ANS‐1 with light irradiation would be attributed to the weak LSPR‐enhanced electric fields, which are only arisen at the confined edges of the Ag NW cores. For ANS‐3, the plasmon‐mediated hot electrons injection is plausible since the Ag nanoparticles are in direct contact with the NiS 2 electrocatalyst, but probably with a low efficiency due to the formation of Schottky barrier between the work function of the metal and semiconductor . Thus, the enhancement of HER activity under light is limited in these two geometries.…”

Construction of Infrared‐Light‐Responsive Photoinduced Carriers Driver for Enhanced Photocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution

“…Photocatalytic technology is a crucial and well‐accepted strategy to exploit and utilize solar energy, which exhibits great potential in alleviating global environmental pollutions and energy crisis 1–3. Photocatalytic water splitting for hydrogen evolution has attracted more and more attentions, since hydrogen is a clean and renewable fuel with high energy density 4–6. However, its practical applications are hindered by the low solar energy conversion efficiency, and one of the significant reasons is the less‐than‐ideal solar spectral response range 7–12.…”

Atomically Dispersed Single Co Sites in Zeolitic Imidazole Frameworks Promoting High‐Efficiency Visible‐Light‐Driven Hydrogen Production

“…Photocatalysis, which can harvest solar energy and convert it into clean and carbon‐free hydrogen (H 2 ) energy by solar water splitting, is deemed as an ideal technique to achieve the sustainable and environmentally benign production of solar fuels . To date, although numerous types of photocatalysts have been developed, their activities and stabilities are still far from satisfactory .…”