A rapid preparation of PPECu and plasmonic Ag/PPECu nanocomposites with high performance for photocatalytic hydrogen production

Abstract

A new and rapid synthetic method toward polymer phenylethnylcopper (PPECu) nanowires is developed. PPECu nanowires have been firstly fabricated through using ascorbic acid instead of methanol as reducing agent. The preparation time of PPECu can be decreased from 48 to 2 h, even at a lower temperature. Ag/PPECu nanocomposites were prepared by the in situ reaction of PPECu and Ag (NH3)2+ ions with different concentrations. Ag/PPECu photocatalysts showed high visible-light H2 production activity, which originated from the combined action of electrons transfer, sacrificing reagent and SPR effect of Ag nanoparticles.