Construction of Spatially Separated Gold Nanocrystal/Cuprous Oxide Architecture for Plasmon-Driven CO<sub>2</sub> Reduction.
basic_science · Level V
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- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 36018616.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1021/acs.nanolett.2c02927.
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Abstract
Plasmonic hot electrons have shown great potential in photocatalysis, but little is known about the hot hole-driven chemical reactions due to the lack of desired plasmonic metal/p-type semiconductor architectures. Herein, we describe a general and robust strategy for the site-selective growth of a p-type semiconductor, Cu<sub>2</sub>O on Au nanocrystals (NCs), to produce diverse spatially separated Au/Cu<sub>2</sub>O heterostructures. The preferential growth of Cu<sub>2</sub>O on the tips/ends/edges of Au NCs is directed by the sparse coverage of the surfactant molecules at the high-curvature sites of Au NCs. The obtained dumbbell-shaped nanostructures serve as the ideal platforms for probing the hot-hole-mediated CO<sub>2</sub> reduction reaction. Benefiting from the hot-hole injection, a new reaction pathway is unlocked, and the C<sub>2</sub> product activity and selectivity are significantly improved. This study demonstrates the genuine superiority of the dumbbell-shaped nanostructures in photocatalysis, offering a new unique avenue to explore the underlying mechanism of hot-hole-mediated chemical reactions.