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Plasmonic Black Absorbers for Enhanced Photocurrent of Visible‐Light Photocatalysis
Author(s) -
Tan Furui,
Wang Ning,
Lei Dang Yuan,
Yu Weixing,
Zhang Xuming
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
advanced optical materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.89
H-Index - 91
ISSN - 2195-1071
DOI - 10.1002/adom.201600399
Subject(s) - materials science , photocurrent , photocatalysis , plasmon , visible spectrum , optoelectronics , absorption (acoustics) , surface plasmon resonance , photothermal therapy , nanoparticle , band gap , plasmonic nanoparticles , plasmonic solar cell , surface plasmon , nanotechnology , energy conversion efficiency , polymer solar cell , composite material , biochemistry , chemistry , catalysis
Plasmonic resonance of noble metal nanoparticles can drastically enhance the visible response of wide‐bandgap photocatalysts such as TiO 2 , but the current technology has two fundamental problems: narrow absorption band and low absorption, which limit the energy efficiency of photocatalysis using sunlight. Here, an original plasmonic black absorber is reported, which sandwiches a 150 nm TiO 2 layer between a layer of random Au nanoparticles and a rough Au surface (200 nm thick). The combined plasmonic effect of the Au nanoparticles and the Au rough surface enables a strong absorption (72%–91%) over 400–900 nm and a significantly (20‐fold) enhanced photocurrent as compared to the bare TiO 2 film. The strong absorption to visible and near infrared light, and the much enhanced photocurrent make the black absorber an ideal material for solar applications such as photocatalytic, photosynthetic, photovoltaic, and photothermal systems.