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Abstract
The use of the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) effect of plasmonic metal nanocomposites to promote photocarrier generation is a strongly emerging field for improving the catalytic performance under visible-light irradiation. In this study, a novel plasmonic photocatalyst, AuPt/N–TiO2, was prepared via a photo-deposition–calcination technique. The Au nanoparticles (NPs) were used herein to harvest visible-light energy via the SPR effect, and Pt NPs were employed as a cocatalyst for trapping the energetic electrons from the semiconductor, leading to a high solar-energy conversion efficiency. The Au2Pt2/N–TiO2 catalyst, herein with the irradiation wavelength in the range 460–800 nm, exhibited a reaction rate ~24 times greater than that of TiO2, and the apparent quantum yield at 500 nm reached 5.86%, indicative of the successful functionalization of N–TiO2 by the integration of Au plasmonic NPs and the Pt cocatalyst. Also, we investigated the effects of two parameters, light source intensity and wavelength, in photocatalytic reactions. It is indicated that the as-prepared AuPt/N–TiO2 photocatalyst can cause selective oxidation of benzyl alcohol under visible-light irradiation with a markedly enhanced selectivity and yield.
Highlights
Titanium dioxide (TiO2) was extensively studied in the past two decades as a photocatalyst because it can eliminate environmental pollutants, purify air, and produce clean hydrogen energy through the efficient utilization of solar energy [1]
Plasmonic metals nanoparticles with attractive surface plasmon resonance (SPR) properties under visible-light excitation can be used as antennas for converting light energy into a local electric field [7,11,12], and improve the photocarrier generation/separation via plasmon-induced resonance energy transfer (PIRET) and the hot-electron injection mechanism [13,14]
For the hot-electron injection effect, the so-called SPR-sensitization effect, the plasmonic metal nanoparticles act as a dye molecule in dye-sensitized solar cells; as excited by the incident high-energy photon, the SPR effect of the plasmonic metal causes confined free electrons oscillating with incident light to generate excitation of hot electrons via non-radiative decay, so-called “plasmonic hot-electron generation”
Summary
Titanium dioxide (TiO2) was extensively studied in the past two decades as a photocatalyst because it can eliminate environmental pollutants, purify air, and produce clean hydrogen energy through the efficient utilization of solar energy [1]. For the hot-electron injection effect, the so-called SPR-sensitization effect, the plasmonic metal nanoparticles act as a dye molecule in dye-sensitized solar cells; as excited by the incident high-energy photon, the SPR effect of the plasmonic metal causes confined free electrons oscillating with incident light to generate excitation of hot electrons via non-radiative decay, so-called “plasmonic hot-electron generation” These hot electrons with energy high enough to overcome the Schottky barrier can inject into the adjacent semiconductor’s conduction band [15,16,17]. N-doped TiO2 introduces a new intra-bandgap level, which causes the absorption range of the semiconductor photocatalyst to overlap with the extinction wavelength of the plasmonic material, thereby obtaining a sufficient resonance interaction. The results obtained in this paper are expected to contribute to the rational design and development of multifunctional metal nanoparticles for applications targeting solar energy conversion
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