Hydrogenation and plasmon-enhanced photocatalytic activity of rhenium oxide nanosheets

Abstract

In this study, we synthesized spherical mixed-valence rhenium oxide (MVReO) nanoparticles with localized surface plasmon resonances (LSPRs) covering visible and NIR region. The spherical MVReO nanoparticles were converted into hydrogen rhenium bronze (HxReO3) nanosheets when dispersed in aqueous solution due to the hydrogen insertion into lattice. More importantly, the HxReO3 nanosheets exhibit enhanced LSPR strength and red-shifted LSPR wavelength. The dispersion of HxReO3 in aqueous solution provides a fascinating way for the light-harvesting enhancement as well as a compatible way for the subsequent growth of CdS to form HxReO3-CdS. The photocatalysis experiments of the HxReO3-CdS hetero-nanocrystals have been performed for the first time. Photocatalytic hydrogen production rate of the HxReO3-CdS is about 92.6 times that of the pure CdS, which is attributed to the HxReO3 for both increasing the light absorption and promoting the electron transfer. These results provide a new strategy to prepare plasmon-exciton hybrids with non-metal plasmonic nanomaterials for photocatalysis applications.