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Plasmon‐induced photothermal effect of sub‐10‐nm Cu nanoparticles enables boosted full‐spectrum solar H 2 production
Author(s) -
Song Rui,
Liu Maochang,
Luo Bing,
Geng Jiafeng,
Jing Dengwei
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
aiche journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.958
H-Index - 167
eISSN - 1547-5905
pISSN - 0001-1541
DOI - 10.1002/aic.17008
Subject(s) - photothermal therapy , surface plasmon resonance , visible spectrum , photothermal effect , nanoparticle , materials science , hydrogen production , irradiation , plasmon , photocatalysis , optoelectronics , photochemistry , hydrogen , ultraviolet , absorption (acoustics) , nanotechnology , chemistry , catalysis , biochemistry , physics , organic chemistry , composite material , nuclear physics
Distinguishing the contributions from localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR)induced photothermal effect is a significant challenge in the study of solar hydrogen production. Herein, a well‐defined one‐dimensional Cu/TiO 2 heterostructure with Cu size of 3–6 nm is designed to address such issue. Cu nanoparticles present notable LSPR absorption from visible to near‐infrared light, while no hydrogen is produced in the presence of simulated light with λ ≥ 700 nm. Interestingly, a remarkable improvement of hydrogen evolution under full‐spectrum light was observed which is almost twice of that under only ultraviolet–visible light irradiation, implying the critical yet auxiliary role of LSPR‐induced photothermal effect in promoting photocatalytic performance. Significantly, a notable reduction of the apparent activation energy and strengthened charge separation efficiency are observed due to the increased local temperature of catalyst surface caused by the plasmon‐induced photothermal effect. The kinetic and thermodynamic changes should be responsible for the enhanced hydrogen production.