Abstract
Plasmonic photocatalysts have been extensively studied for the past decade as a possible solution to energy crisis and environmental problems. Although various reports on plasmonic photocatalysts have been published, including synthesis methods, applications, and mechanism clarifications, the quantum yields of photochemical reactions are usually too low for commercialization. Accordingly, it has been proposed that preparation of plasmonic photocatalysts with efficient light harvesting and inhibition of charge carriers’ recombination might result in improvement of photocatalytic activity. Among various strategies, nano-architecture of plasmonic photocatalysts seems to be one of the best strategies, including the design of properties for both semiconductor and noble-metal-deposits, as well as the interactions between them. For example, faceted nanoparticles, nanotubes, aerogels, and super-nano structures of semiconductors have shown the improvement of photocatalytic activity and stability. Moreover, the selective deposition of noble metals on some parts of semiconductor nanostructures (e.g., specific facets, basal or lateral surfaces) results in an activity increase. Additionally, mono-, bi-, and ternary-metal-modifications have been proposed as the other ways of performance improvement. However, in some cases, the interactions between different noble metals might cause unwanted charge carriers’ recombination. Accordingly, this review discusses the recent strategies on the improvements of the photocatalytic performance of plasmonic photocatalysts.
Highlights
The consumption of fossil fuels has been significantly increasing in recent years because of the fast industry development and world population growth
In contrast to octahedral particlesparticles (OAP) and commercial titania samples modified with noble metals by photodeposition, photodeposition, it has been found that a decrease in the size of Pt NPs results in activity it has been found that a decrease in the size of Pt NPs results in activity enhancement under both UV
Plasmonic photocatalysts have been intensively investigated in recent years, because of tunable vis activity and broad possibilities of applications, including environmental purification and solar energy conversion
Summary
The consumption of fossil fuels has been significantly increasing in recent years because of the fast industry development and world population growth. Theplasmonic plasmonicheating heatinghas hasalso alsobeen beenproposed proposedas asthe themain mainmechanism mechanismof ofsome somereactions, reactions,i.e., i.e., The. The plasmonic heating has been proposed as the main mechanism of some reactions, i.e., local heating around noble-metal-deposits resulting in the cleavage of some chemical bonds [46]. The final mechanism has not been clarified yet, and might depend on the properties/morphology/composition of the photocatalysts and studied reactions, it has been proven that plasmonic photocatalysts are active for various photocatalytic reactions under vis range of solar spectrum, e.g., solar energy conversion (into electricity [45] and fuels [55]), degradation of organic compounds [56] and microorganisms [57], synthesis of organic compounds [58], and cancer treatment [59]. The nanoarchitecture of morphology has been proposed as efficient one for activity enhancement, as discussed
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