The Localized Surface Plasmon Resonances (LSPR) Origin of W18O49 and Application in Photocatalysis

Abstract

A key solution for high-efficiency solar-to-fuel conversion is to fabricate semiconductor photocatalysts with ultra-broad spectral absorption and high charge-carriers utilization efficiency [1]. The localized surface plasmon resonances (LSPR) effect of W18O49 induces visible and near-infrared (NIR) light absorption efficiently, realizing full-spectrum solar-light driven photocatalysis [2]. Therefore, it is meaningful to study the LSPR origin and seek ways to make full use of photo-induced hot electron of W18O49. In our work, by density-functional theory calculation, the LSPR has been proposed to originate from the localized electron confinement around lattice W5+–W5+ pairs in the unique structure of W18O49, which explains the experimental results that W18O49 has a broad absorption ranging from visible to NIR region, independent of the particle shape and size. Hierarchical-structured W18O49 microflowers with high absorbance have been coated with ZnIn2S4 nanosheets to achieve cocatalyst-free photocatalytic composite, which exhibits outstanding H2 production of 902.57 µmol within 3 h under simulated solar-light. [3] Z-scheme photocatalytic heterojunction of W18O49 microflowers and g-C3N4 nanosheets has been constructed through electrostatic self-assembly method, which shows higher photocatalytic hydrogen production performance than the counterpart synthesized by hydrothermal method. [4] Reference [1] Q. Wang, K. Domen, Chem. Rev. 2020, 120, 919−985.[2] Z. Y. Zhang, J. D. Huang, Y. R. Fang, et al., Adv. Mater. 2017, 29, 1606688.[3] Y. Lu, X.F. Jia, Z.Y. Ma, et al., Adv. Funct. Mater., 2022, 32, 2203638.[4] Z. Y. Ma, W. P. Li, X. F. Jia, et al., Mater. Today. Adv. 2022, 15, 100249.