Abstract
Issues related to global energy and environment as well as health crisis are currently some of the greatest challenges faced by humanity, which compel us to develop new pollution-free and sustainable energy sources, as well as next-generation biodiagnostic solutions. Optical functional nanostructures that manipulate and confine light on a nanometer scale have recently emerged as leading candidates for a wide range of applications in solar energy conversion and biosensing. In this review, recent research progress in the development of photonic and plasmonic nanostructures for various applications in solar energy conversion, such as photovoltaics, photothermal conversion, and photocatalysis, is highlighted. Furthermore, the combination of photonic and plasmonic nanostructures for developing high-efficiency solar energy conversion systems is explored and discussed. We also discuss recent applications of photonic–plasmonic-based biosensors in the rapid management of infectious diseases at point-of-care as well as terahertz biosensing and imaging for improving global health. Finally, we discuss the current challenges and future prospects associated with the existing solar energy conversion and biosensing systems.
Highlights
The application of solar energy in addressing global energy and environmental issues has recently attracted increasing attention, and various techniques for the same have emerged
Optical functional nanostructures are suitable for a wide range of applications in photoenergy conversion, photocatalysts, and biosensing
This review introduced the mechanism and principles, as well as recent progress in the development of photonic and plasmonic nanostructures for energy and sensor applications
Summary
The application of solar energy in addressing global energy and environmental issues has recently attracted increasing attention, and various techniques for the same have emerged. There are two main reasons for the low efficiency of solar energy conversion: limited light absorption and high recombination rates of charge carriers. The second reason for the low efficiency of solar energy conversion is the high electron–hole recombination rate in the bulk of a semiconductor owing to the short diffusion length of photoexcited minority charge carriers. Ultraviolet (UV) bandgap semiconductors were doped to increase the absorption of visible light This approach leads to high charge recombination rates due to the detrimental charge mobility caused by isolated midgap states [1]. We discuss different approaches to enhance solar energy conversion efficiency by incorporating semiconductors with photonic, plasmonic, or hybridized photonic–plasmonic nanostructures. We provide an overview of the challenges and prospects of the current research studies on the photonic–plasmonic-based solar energy conversion and emerging biosensors
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