Plasmonic photoanodes for solar water splitting with visible light.
We report a plasmonic water splitting cell in which 95% of the effective charge carriers derive from surface plasmon decay to hot electrons, as evidenced by fuel production efficiencies up to 20-fold higher at visible, as compared to UV, wavelengths. The cell functions by illuminating a dense array of aligned gold nanorods capped with TiO(2), forming a Schottky metal/semiconductor interface which collects and conducts the hot electrons to an unilluminated platinum counter-electrode where hydrogen gas evolves. The resultant positive charges in the Au nanorods function as holes and are extracted by an oxidation catalyst which electrocatalytically oxidizes water to oxygen gas.
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Santa Barbara, California 93106, United States.
Joun
J
Lee
Syed
S
Mubeen
Xiulei
X
Ji
Galen D
GD
Stucky
Martin
M
Moskovits
D004563:Electrochemistry / Q000295:instrumentation*; D004566:Electrodes; D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D006859:Hydrogen / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D008027:Light; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000528:radiation effects / Q000648:ultrastructure; D010100:Oxygen / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D012993:Solar Energy; D020349:Surface Plasmon Resonance / Q000295:instrumentation*; D014025:Titanium / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000528:radiation effects; D014867:Water / Q000737:chemistry*
D014867:Water; C009495:titanium dioxide; D006859:Hydrogen; D014025:Titanium; D010100:Oxygen