Premium
Self‐Assembled Au/CdSe Nanocrystal Clusters for Plasmon‐Mediated Photocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution
Author(s) -
Shi Run,
Cao Yinhu,
Bao Yanjun,
Zhao Yufei,
Waterhouse Geoffrey I. N.,
Fang Zheyu,
Wu LiZhu,
Tung ChenHo,
Yin Yadong,
Zhang Tierui
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
advanced materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 10.707
H-Index - 527
eISSN - 1521-4095
pISSN - 0935-9648
DOI - 10.1002/adma.201700803
Subject(s) - materials science , nanocrystal , plasmon , photocatalysis , surface plasmon resonance , quantum dot , semiconductor , nanotechnology , nanoparticle , photochemistry , absorption (acoustics) , optoelectronics , chemistry , catalysis , biochemistry , composite material
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 2 ‐evolution rate of 73 mmol g CdSe − 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.