Cu2-x­se Nanorods with Tunable Surface Plasmon Resonance for NIR Photocatalysis

Abstract

Heavily doped semiconductors such as Cu2-xSe have demonstrated significant surface plasmon resonance (SPR) primarily in the NIR region.[1,2] For solar fuel generation, the effective use of NIR spectrum has been limited although it accounts for over 50% of the solar radiation. In this work, we demonstrated the tunable NIR SPR absorption for Cu2-xSe nanorods with various aspect ratios. The samples were prepared by directly inserting Cu+ ions into Se nanorods during the ion exchange process.[3] With the distinctive NIR SPR absorption, the Cu2-xSe nanorods exhibited remarkable photocatalytic activity toward hydrogen production. This demonstration suggests a possibility to further extend the utilization of solar spectrum toward near IR region, an important merit for advanced photocatalytic and photoelectrochemical applications.