title: Nanometals for Solar-to-Chemical Energy Conversion: From Semiconductor-Based Photocatalysis to Plasmon-Mediated Photocatalysis and Photo-Thermocatalysis.
abstract: Nanometal materials play very important roles in solar-to-chemical energy conversion due to their unique catalytic and optical characteristics. They have found wide applications from semiconductor photocatalysis to rapidly growing surface plasmon-mediated heterogeneous catalysis. The recent research achievements of nanometals are reviewed here, with regard to applications in semiconductor photocatalysis, plasmonic photocatalysis, and plasmonic photo-thermocatalysis. As the first important topic discussed here, the latest progress in the design of nanometal cocatalysts and their applications in semiconductor photocatalysis are introduced. Then, plasmonic photocatalysis and plasmonic photo-thermocatalysis are discussed. A better understanding of electron-driven and temperature-driven catalytic behaviors over plasmonic nanometals is helpful to bridge the present gap between the communities of photocatalysis and conventional catalysis controlled by temperature. The objective here is to provide instructive information on how to take the advantages of the unique functions of nanometals in different types of catalytic processes to improve the efficiency of solar-energy utilization for more practical artificial photosynthesis.
authors.affiliation: TU-NIMS Joint Research Center, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, 92 Weijin Road, Tianjin, 300072, P. R. China.|International Center for Materials Nanoarchitectonics (WPI-MANA) and Environmental Remediation Materials Unit, National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS), 1-1 Namiki, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-0044, Japan.|Graduate School of Chemical Science and Engineering, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, 060-0814, Japan.
authors.forename: Xianguang
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Meng
authors.affiliation: TU-NIMS Joint Research Center, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, 92 Weijin Road, Tianjin, 300072, P. R. China.|Tianjin Key Lab Composite and Functional Materials, Key Lab of Advanced Ceramics and Machining Technology of Ministry of Education, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300072, P. R. China.|Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemical Science and Engineering (Tianjin), Tianjin, 300072, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Lequan
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: TU-NIMS Joint Research Center, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, 92 Weijin Road, Tianjin, 300072, P. R. China.|Tianjin Key Lab Composite and Functional Materials, Key Lab of Advanced Ceramics and Machining Technology of Ministry of Education, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300072, P. R. China.|Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemical Science and Engineering (Tianjin), Tianjin, 300072, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Shuxin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ouyang
authors.affiliation: TU-NIMS Joint Research Center, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, 92 Weijin Road, Tianjin, 300072, P. R. China.|Tianjin Key Lab Composite and Functional Materials, Key Lab of Advanced Ceramics and Machining Technology of Ministry of Education, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300072, P. R. China.|Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemical Science and Engineering (Tianjin), Tianjin, 300072, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Hua
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: TU-NIMS Joint Research Center, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, 92 Weijin Road, Tianjin, 300072, P. R. China.|Tianjin Key Lab Composite and Functional Materials, Key Lab of Advanced Ceramics and Machining Technology of Ministry of Education, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300072, P. R. China.|Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemical Science and Engineering (Tianjin), Tianjin, 300072, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Defa
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Tianjin Key Lab Composite and Functional Materials, Key Lab of Advanced Ceramics and Machining Technology of Ministry of Education, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300072, P. R. China.|Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemical Science and Engineering (Tianjin), Tianjin, 300072, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Naiqin
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: TU-NIMS Joint Research Center, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, 92 Weijin Road, Tianjin, 300072, P. R. China.|International Center for Materials Nanoarchitectonics (WPI-MANA) and Environmental Remediation Materials Unit, National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS), 1-1 Namiki, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-0044, Japan.|Graduate School of Chemical Science and Engineering, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, 060-0814, Japan.|Tianjin Key Lab Composite and Functional Materials, Key Lab of Advanced Ceramics and Machining Technology of Ministry of Education, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300072, P. R. China.|Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemical Science and Engineering (Tianjin), Tianjin, 300072, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Jinhua
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ye
keywords: cocatalysts; nanometals; photocatalysis; plasmon; solar energy conversion