Plasmonic Gold Nanocrystals Coupled with Photonic Crystal Seamlessly on TiO 2 Nanotube Photoelectrodes for Efficient Visible Light Photoelectrochemical Water Splitting

A visible light responsive plasmonic photocatalytic composite material is designed by rationally selecting Au nanocrystals and assembling them with the TiO(2)-based photonic crystal substrate. The selection of the Au nanocrystals is so that their surface plasmonic resonance (SPR) wavelength matches the photonic band gap of the photonic crystal and thus that the SPR of the Au receives remarkable assistance from the photonic crystal substrate. The design of the composite material is expected to significantly increase the Au SPR intensity and consequently boost the hot electron injection from the Au nanocrystals into the conduction band of TiO(2), leading to a considerably enhanced water splitting performance of…

• KA
  King Abdullah University of Science and Technology