title: Mussel-Inspired Polydopamine Functionalized Plasmonic Nanocomposites for Single-Particle Catalysis.
abstract: Polydopamine functionalized plasmonic nanocomposites with well-distributed catalytically active small gold nanoislands around large gold core were fabricated without using any chemical reductant or surfactant. The optical properties, surface molecular structures, and ensemble catalytic activity of the gold nanocomposites were investigated by time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry and UV-vis spectroscopy, respectively. Moreover, the considerable catalytic activity of the nanocomposites toward 4-nitrophenol reduction was real time monitored by dark-field spectroscopy techniques at the single-nanoparticle level avoiding averaging effects in bulk systems. According to the obtained plasmonic signals from individual nanocomposites, the electron charging and discharging rates for these nanocomposites during the catalytic process were calculated. Our results offer new insights into the design and synthesis of plasmonic nanocomposites for future catalytic applications as well as a further mechanistic understanding of the electron transfer during the catalytic process at the single-nanoparticle level.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory for Advanced Materials, School of Chemistry & Molecular Engineering, and ‡State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Risk Assessment and Control on Chemical Processes, East China University of Science and Technology , 130 Meilong Road, Shanghai 200237, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Jun-Gang
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory for Advanced Materials, School of Chemistry & Molecular Engineering, and ‡State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Risk Assessment and Control on Chemical Processes, East China University of Science and Technology , 130 Meilong Road, Shanghai 200237, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Xin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Hua
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory for Advanced Materials, School of Chemistry & Molecular Engineering, and ‡State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Risk Assessment and Control on Chemical Processes, East China University of Science and Technology , 130 Meilong Road, Shanghai 200237, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Meng
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2031-9233
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory for Advanced Materials, School of Chemistry & Molecular Engineering, and ‡State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Risk Assessment and Control on Chemical Processes, East China University of Science and Technology , 130 Meilong Road, Shanghai 200237, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Yi-Tao
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2571-7457
authors.initials: YT
authors.lastname: Long
keywords: ToF-SIMS; dark-field microscopy; plasmonic nanocomposites; polydopamine; single-particle catalysis