Tuning the Reactivity of Al@TiO<sub>2</sub> Antenna–Reactor Plasmonic Photocatalysts by Controlling Oxygen Vacancies
Oxygen vacancies on a metal oxide surface enhance its catalytic activity. Here we investigate the controlled introduction of oxygen vacancies on core-shell Al@TiO<sub>2</sub> antenna-reactor nanoparticle photocatalysts. Thermal annealing in an H<sub>2</sub>-reducing atmosphere creates more oxygen vacancies in the surface TiO<sub>2</sub> layer of Al@TiO<sub>2</sub> nanoparticles compared to the same process under inert (He) or oxidative (O<sub>2</sub>) ambients. The photocatalytic reactivity enhancement was evaluated by investigating two reactions: hole-mediated methanol decomposition and electron-mediated hydrogen dissociation. The ability to modify plasmonic nanoparticle photocatalyst reactivity in this simple and controllable manner demonstrates the potential of this approach to tailor and enhance the performance of plasmonic antenna-reactor photocatalysts.
Authors
- Peter Nordlander (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1633-2937)
- Aaron Bayles (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7396-7800)
- Catherine J. Fabiano (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7170-2657)
- Alexander Ahrens (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2648-8086)
- Yigao Yuan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1385-2395)
- Geoffrey F. Strouse (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0841-282X)
- Naomi J. Halas (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8461-8494)
- A. J. Yates (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2555-2608)
- Parmeet Dhindsa (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0711-4492)
- Henry O. Everitt (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8141-3768)
- Aliyu A. Ahmad (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3118-4872)
Institutions
- Florida State University (US)
- United States Department of the Army (US)
- DEVCOM Army Research Laboratory (US)
- Rice University (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Nano Letters
- Published
- 2025-08-25
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.nanolett.5c03450
- Citations
- 1
- Primary Topic
- Advanced Photocatalysis Techniques
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.36
Funders
- Welch Foundation
- Air Force Office of Scientific Research