Tunable Plasmon Resonance and Enhanced Photocatalytic Activity of Au–CdS Core–Shell Nanodogbones

Abstract

Au–CdS core–shell nanodogbones with controllable shell thickness were facilely synthesized by one-pot method. Their tunable optical properties have been investigated with UV-Vis spectra and finite-difference time-domain method. With CdS shell thickness increasing, the red-shifted and enhanced surface plasmon resonance (SPR) peak is observed as expected, while a new transverse SPR (T-SPR) gradually appeared at the visible region and two T-SPR bands overlap with each other, which broaden absorption band of the corresponding components in the solar spectrum. In addition, Au–CdS NDBs exhibited excellent photocatalytic performance in the photodegradation tests of rhodamine B, and their photocatalytic activities enhanced with CdS shell thicknesses increasing. We believe that the finding will have great potential applications in the solar energy fields.