Optimal metal domain size for photocatalysis with hybrid semiconductor-metal nanorods

Ben-Shahar, Yuval; Scotognella, Francesco; Kriegel, Ilka; Moretti, Luca; Cerullo, Giulio; Rabani, Eran; Banin, Uri

doi:10.1038/ncomms10413

Optimal metal domain size for photocatalysis with hybrid semiconductor-metal nanorods

Journal Article · Tue Jan 19 00:00:00 EST 2016 · Nature Communications

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms10413· OSTI ID:1623824

Ben-Shahar, Yuval ^[1]; Scotognella, Francesco ^[2]; Kriegel, Ilka ^[2]; Moretti, Luca ^[2]; Cerullo, Giulio ^[2]; Rabani, Eran ^[3]; Banin, Uri ^[4]

Hebrew Univ. of Jerusalem (Israel). The Inst. of Chemistry and Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology; DOE/OSTI
Politecnico di Milano (Italy). IFN-CNR. Dipartimento di Fisica
Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States). Dept. of Chemistry; Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Tel Aviv Univ., Ramat Aviv (Israel). The Sackler Inst. for Computational Molecular and Materials Science
Hebrew Univ. of Jerusalem (Israel). The Inst. of Chemistry and Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology

Semiconductor-metal hybrid nanostructures offer a highly controllable platform for light-induced charge separation, with direct relevance for their implementation in photocatalysis. Advances in the synthesis allow for control over the size, shape and morphology, providing tunability of the optical and electronic properties. A critical determining factor of the photocatalytic cycle is the metal domain characteristics and in particular its size, a subject that lacks deep understanding. Here, using a well-defined model system of cadmium sulfide-gold nanorods, we address the effect of the gold tip size on the photocatalytic function, including the charge transfer dynamics and hydrogen production efficiency. A combination of transient absorption, hydrogen evolution kinetics and theoretical modelling reveal a non-monotonic behaviour with size of the gold tip, leading to an optimal metal domain size for the most efficient photocatalysis. We show that this results from the size-dependent interplay of the metal domain charging, the relative band-alignments, and the resulting kinetics.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Science (SC)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC02-05CH11231

OSTI ID:: 1623824

Journal Information:: Nature Communications, Journal Name: Nature Communications Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 7; ISSN 2041-1723

Publisher:: Nature Publishing GroupCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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