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Ammonia Oxidation Enhanced by Photopotential Generated by Plasmonic Excitation of a Bimetallic Electrocatalyst
Author(s) -
Wang Jun,
Heo Jaeyoung,
Chen Changqiang,
Wilson Andrew J.,
Jain Prashant K.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
angewandte chemie
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1521-3757
pISSN - 0044-8249
DOI - 10.1002/ange.202007202
Subject(s) - electrocatalyst , bimetallic strip , photochemistry , chemistry , catalysis , electrochemistry , plasmon , kinetics , visible spectrum , ammonia , nanoparticle , inorganic chemistry , electrode , materials science , nanotechnology , optoelectronics , organic chemistry , physics , quantum mechanics
We study how visible light influences the activity of an electrocatalyst composed of Au and Pt nanoparticles. The bimetallic composition imparts a dual functionality: the Pt component catalyzes the electrochemical oxidation of ammonia to liberate hydrogen and the Au component absorbs visible light by the excitation of localized surface plasmon resonances. Under visible‐light excitation, this catalyst exhibits enhanced electrochemical ammonia oxidation kinetics, outperforming previously reported electrochemical schemes. We trace the enhancement to a photochemical potential resulting from electron–hole carriers generated in the electrocatalyst by plasmonic excitation. The photopotential responsible for enhanced kinetics scales linearly with the light intensity—a general design principle for eliciting superlative photoelectrochemical performance from catalysts comprised of plasmonic metals or hybrids. We also determine a photochemical conversion coefficient.