Plasmonic enhancements of photocatalytic activity of Pt/n-Si/Ag photodiodes using Au/Ag core/shell nanorods

J Am Chem Soc. 2011 Oct 26;133(42):16730-3. doi: 10.1021/ja204383q. Epub 2011 Oct 4.

Abstract

We report the plasmonic enhancement of the photocatalytic properties of Pt/n-Si/Ag photodiode photocatalysts using Au/Ag core/shell nanorods. We show that Au/Ag core/shell nanorods can be synthesized with tunable plasmon resonance frequencies and then conjugated onto Pt/n-Si/Ag photodiodes using well-defined chemistry. Photocatalytic studies showed that the conjugation with Au/Ag core/shell nanorods can significantly enhance the photocatalytic activity by more than a factor of 3. Spectral dependence studies further revealed that the photocatalytic enhancement is strongly correlated with the plasmonic absorption spectra of the Au/Ag core/shell nanorods, unambiguously demonstrating the plasmonic enhancement effect.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

  • Catalysis
  • Gold / chemistry*
  • Light*
  • Microscopy, Electron, Transmission
  • Nanotubes / chemistry*
  • Platinum / chemistry*
  • Silicon / chemistry*
  • Silver / chemistry*
  • Surface Plasmon Resonance

Substances

  • Silver
  • Platinum
  • Gold
  • Silicon