Semiconductor-based photocatalysts innovation and heterojunction design incorporating novel materials have shed light on the enhancement of the photoelectrochemical performances concerning energy fields, among which the plasmonic metal/semiconductor nanostructure raised extensive research attentions due to further PEC performance enhancement. In this work, an innovatively sandwiched structure composed of Ta3N5 nanorods/ultrathin TiO2/Au nanoparticles was designed with successive PEC enhancement. The successful combination between the Ta3N5 nanorods and the dielectric TiO2 layer represented carriers’ migration, in addition with the heterojunction between TiO2 and Au NPs contributed to the synergistically suppression of the charge carriers’ recombination. Au NPs could further serve as the plasmonic absorber underlying their localized surface plasma resonance effect, expanding the light absorption over the whole visible range, and inducing hot electrons injection to the TiO2 layer effectively. The hierarchical performance improvement via surface plasmon enhanced photoelectrochemical activity in the well-designed heterostructure propose strong potential for the development of novel photocatalysts.
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