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Dominance of Plasmonic Resonant Energy Transfer over Direct Electron Transfer in Substantially Enhanced Water Oxidation Activity of BiVO 4 by Shape‐Controlled Au Nanoparticles
Author(s) -
Lee Mi Gyoung,
Moon Cheon Woo,
Park Hoonkee,
Sohn Woonbae,
Kang Sung Bum,
Lee Sanghan,
Choi Kyoung Jin,
Jang Ho Won
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
small
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.785
H-Index - 236
eISSN - 1613-6829
pISSN - 1613-6810
DOI - 10.1002/smll.201701644
Subject(s) - plasmon , semiconductor , materials science , surface plasmon resonance , bismuth vanadate , band gap , optoelectronics , nanoparticle , electron transfer , nanotechnology , plasmonic nanoparticles , photocatalysis , photochemistry , chemistry , catalysis , biochemistry
The performance of plasmonic Au nanostructure/metal oxide heterointerface shows great promise in enhancing photoactivity, due to its ability to confine light to the small volume inside the semiconductor and modify the interfacial electronic band structure. While the shape control of Au nanoparticles (NPs) is crucial for moderate bandgap semiconductors, because plasmonic resonance by interband excitations overlaps above the absorption edge of semiconductors, its critical role in water splitting is still not fully understood. Here, first, the plasmonic effects of shape‐controlled Au NPs on bismuth vanadate (BiVO 4 ) are studied, and a largely enhanced photoactivity of BiVO 4 is reported by introducing the octahedral Au NPs. The octahedral Au NP/BiVO 4 achieves 2.4 mA cm −2 at the 1.23 V versus reversible hydrogen electrode, which is the threefold enhancement compared to BiVO 4 . It is the highest value among the previously reported plasmonic Au NPs/BiVO 4 . Improved photoactivity is attributed to the localized surface plasmon resonance; direct electron transfer (DET), plasmonic resonant energy transfer (PRET). The PRET can be stressed over DET when considering the moderate bandgap semiconductor. Enhanced water oxidation induced by the shape‐controlled Au NPs is applicable to moderate semiconductors, and shows a systematic study to explore new efficient plasmonic solar water splitting cells.