Function-Oriented Engineering of Metal-Based Nanohybrids for Photoredox Catalysis: Exerting Plasmonic Effect and Beyond

By Nan Zhang, Chuang Han, Xianzhi Fu, Yi‐Jun Xu. Chem, 2018

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Summary Metal-based nanostructures have received great research attention for constructing photoredox catalysts because of their tunable electronic and optical properties, as typically demonstrated by plasmonic metals. In this review, we begin by briefly presenting the development history, basic concept, and influential factors of surface plasmon resonance of metal nanostructures. Then, we describe the mechanisms that have been proposed to explain the metal-plasmon-enhanced photoactivity of semiconductors and their characteristics. Dedicated emphasis is put on the function-oriented engineering strategies for maximizing the efficacy of these mechanisms for improving the performance of metal-semiconductor photocatalysts with theoretical explanations and some representative examples. In addition, we also discuss the latest advances in a non-plasmonic metal that offers a scattered photon-harvesting channel for photoredox catalysis. Finally, we present our vision of the future development in this field. The rational design and deliberate synthesis of metal-semiconductor hybrids in a smart configuration will afford more possibilities toward solar energy conversion.

Subfields: Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials, Materials Chemistry, Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/cce17b9bf7aef425ba3c5aefd491408598f1aacd