Supported plasmonic Au nanoclusters (NCs) consisting of a few tens of atoms can potentially offer great advantages for the light-driven hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Here, we report on the synthesis of well-dispersed and stable plasmonic Au NCs of 0.5-1.0 nm size on nitrogen-doped high surface area graphene (N-Gr) via freeze-drying and pyrolyzing in argon. The Au NCs/N-Gr photocatalyst exhibits under visible-light an impressive HER achievement (3.16 mu mol mg(cat)(-1) h(-1)) compared to Au single atoms/N-Gr (2.06 mu mol mg(cat)(-1) h(-1)) and Au nanoparticles (20 nm size)/N-Gr (0.92 mu mol mg(cat)(-1) h(-1)), with a maximum apparent quantum yield of 14.30%. These performances are synergistically attributed to two effects: (a) the strong surface plasmon resonance stimulated by light absorption and transferred near the surface of Au NCs, where the N-Gr conductive support can prolong the plasmon-produced hot electrons and direct the light-to-hydrogen conversion; (b) a high catalytic efficiency of Au NCs/N-Gr nanocomposites.

Van Dao, D., Cipriano, L., Di Liberto, G., Nguyen, T., Ki, S., Son, H., et al. (2021). Plasmonic Au nanoclusters dispersed in nitrogen-doped graphene as a robust photocatalyst for light-to-hydrogen conversion. JOURNAL OF MATERIALS CHEMISTRY. A, 9(40), 22810-22819 [10.1039/D1TA05445G].

Plasmonic Au nanoclusters dispersed in nitrogen-doped graphene as a robust photocatalyst for light-to-hydrogen conversion

Di Liberto, Giovanni;Pacchioni, Gianfranco
;
2021

Abstract

Supported plasmonic Au nanoclusters (NCs) consisting of a few tens of atoms can potentially offer great advantages for the light-driven hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Here, we report on the synthesis of well-dispersed and stable plasmonic Au NCs of 0.5-1.0 nm size on nitrogen-doped high surface area graphene (N-Gr) via freeze-drying and pyrolyzing in argon. The Au NCs/N-Gr photocatalyst exhibits under visible-light an impressive HER achievement (3.16 mu mol mg(cat)(-1) h(-1)) compared to Au single atoms/N-Gr (2.06 mu mol mg(cat)(-1) h(-1)) and Au nanoparticles (20 nm size)/N-Gr (0.92 mu mol mg(cat)(-1) h(-1)), with a maximum apparent quantum yield of 14.30%. These performances are synergistically attributed to two effects: (a) the strong surface plasmon resonance stimulated by light absorption and transferred near the surface of Au NCs, where the N-Gr conductive support can prolong the plasmon-produced hot electrons and direct the light-to-hydrogen conversion; (b) a high catalytic efficiency of Au NCs/N-Gr nanocomposites.
Articolo in rivista - Articolo scientifico
Au, graphene, DFT;
English
21-ago-2021
2021
9
40
22810
22819
none
Van Dao, D., Cipriano, L., Di Liberto, G., Nguyen, T., Ki, S., Son, H., et al. (2021). Plasmonic Au nanoclusters dispersed in nitrogen-doped graphene as a robust photocatalyst for light-to-hydrogen conversion. JOURNAL OF MATERIALS CHEMISTRY. A, 9(40), 22810-22819 [10.1039/D1TA05445G].
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/10281/327080
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