title: Plasmon-enhanced photocatalytic water purification.
abstract: Increasing water demand and water scarcity around the world requires the development of robust and efficient methods for water purification in the coming decades. Here, we report a photocatalytic water purification method using visible light (532 nm) utilizing 5 nm gold nanoparticles and their enhancement when attached on the surface of silica nanospheres as an inactive support to prevent nanoparticle coalescence or sintering. This is a non-toxic, low-cost, and easy photocatalytic process which provides high decomposition rates. Decomposition of the methyl orange dye is tested as a reaction model and trichloroethylene is selected as an example of a real water pollutant. When irradiated at their plasmon resonant frequency, the gold nanoparticles generate hydroxyl radicals that degradate organic pollutants into non-toxic molecules representing a basic mechanism of photocatalytic water purification.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, Aragon Institute of Nanoscience (INA), University of Zaragoza, Campus Río Ebro, 50018 Zaragoza, Spain.
authors.forename: Leyre
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Gomez
authors.forename: Victor
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Sebastian
authors.forename: Manuel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Arruebo
authors.forename: Jesus
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Santamaria
authors.forename: Stephen B
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Cronin
mesh_terms: D001391:Azo Compounds / Q000737:chemistry; D002384:Catalysis; D006046:Gold / Q000737:chemistry*; D017665:Hydroxyl Radical / Q000737:chemistry; D008027:Light; D053768:Metal Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry*; D010782:Photolysis; D012822:Silicon Dioxide / Q000737:chemistry*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000737:chemistry*; D018508:Water Purification / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D001391:Azo Compounds; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D017665:Hydroxyl Radical; C100258:methyl orange; D006046:Gold; D012822:Silicon Dioxide