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Updated: Jul 11, 2026
09:29
Utilization of Plasmonic and Photonic Crystal Nanostructures for Enhanced Micro- and Nanoparticle Manipulation
Published on: September 27, 2011
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Effect of crystal facets in plasmonic catalysis
Yicui Kang1, Simão M João2, Rui Lin3
1Nanoinstitute Munich, Faculty of Physics, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, 80539, München, Germany.
Nature Communications
|May 9, 2024
Summary
Plasmon-assisted catalysis performance depends on nanoparticle shape, not just crystal facets. Gold octahedrons showed enhanced CO2 reduction, indicating hot carriers dominate over facets in plasmonic reactions.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Catalysis
- Nanotechnology
Background:
- Crystal facets influence traditional heterogeneous catalysis.
- Plasmon-assisted catalysis research often overlooks facet effects, focusing on plasmon mechanisms.
- Understanding facet roles in plasmonic catalysis is crucial for optimizing reactions.
Purpose of the Study:
- Investigate the impact of different crystal facets on plasmon-assisted electrocatalytic CO2 reduction.
- Compare the performance of gold nanoparticles with varying facet exposures under plasmon excitation.
- Determine whether facets or plasmon-derived effects (hot carriers, electric fields) dominate plasmonic catalysis.
Main Methods:
- Electrocatalytic CO2 reduction using gold nanocubes (NCs), rhombic dodecahedrons (RDs), and octahedrons (OCs).
- Plasmon excitation via light illumination and comparison with dark conditions.
- Temperature-dependent experiments to rule out thermal effects.
- Atomistic simulations and electromagnetic modeling to analyze hot carrier generation and electric field enhancement.
Main Results:
- Gold octahedrons (OCs) with {111} facets significantly enhanced CO Faradaic efficiency and partial current density under illumination compared to dark conditions.
- Gold nanocubes (NCs) also showed performance improvements with light, while rhombic dodecahedrons (RDs) exhibited minimal light influence.
- Simulations indicated higher hot carrier abundance and electric field enhancement on OCs and NCs, suggesting these effects dominate over crystal facets.
- Plasmon-assisted hydrogen evolution reaction experiments corroborated these findings.
Conclusions:
- In plasmonic catalysis, hot carrier generation and electric field enhancement are more dominant factors than crystal facets.
- Low-coordinated sites, influenced by plasmon effects, play a critical role in reaction mechanisms.
- These findings offer key insights for designing efficient plasmonic photocatalysts for energy conversion and carbon neutralization.
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