Article
Chemistry, Physical
Ying Wang, Yonglong Li, Zhao Zhang, Wei Xie
Summary: Plasmonic photocatalysis is a promising strategy for inducing chemical transformations under visible-light irradiation. However, efficient utilization of hot electrons on monometallic nanoparticles remains challenging. In this study, Au-core-Ag-shell bimetallic nanoparticles showed higher catalytic activity than pure Au and Ag nanoparticles for the reduction of 4-nitrothiophenol to 4,4'-dimercaptoazobenzene. The catalytic activity was dependent on the thickness of the Ag shell and could be explained by hot-electron-hole separation at the bimetallic interface. This work provides new opportunities for enhancing the efficient utilization of hot electrons in plasmonic photocatalysis reactions.
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Ziyang Ye, Dinesh Kumar Bommidi, Andrea Danielle Pickel
Summary: A method is developed to simultaneously excite upconverting nanoparticles (UCNPs) as luminescent thermometers and photocatalysts using a single near-infrared laser, allowing for the separation of the thermometry signal from the chemical reaction signal in the spectral domain. This method provides high-fidelity surface temperature measurements and offers a valuable tool for elucidating thermal contributions to plasmonic photocatalysis.
ADVANCED OPTICAL MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Yunxiang Wang, Buyun Chen, Deming Meng, Boxiang Song, Zerui Liu, Pan Hu, Hao Yang, Tse-Hsien Ou, Fanxin Liu, Halton Pi, Irene Pi, Isleen Pi, Wei Wu
Summary: Semiconductor photocatalysis is a potential solution to energy and environmental issues. The use of noble metal nanoparticles and their localized surface plasmon resonance effect can enhance photocatalytic activity by extending light absorption into the visible range.
Review
Chemistry, Physical
Mohsin Ijaz
Summary: Photocatalytic water splitting is a cheap and clean method for solar to hydrogen conversion. Plasmon excitations in metallic nanostructures enhance charge separation, absorption range, and optical density in semiconductors. Additional carriers generated from plasmon-decay can externally charge semiconductors, leading to enhanced photocatalytic hydrogen production.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HYDROGEN ENERGY
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Lin Nan, Jesuus Giraldez-Martinez, Andrei Stefancu, Li Zhu, Min Liu, Alexander O. Govorov, Lucas V. Besteiro, Emiliano Cortes
Summary: This study investigates the influence of hot-spots on photocatalytic reactions by controlling the interparticle distances. It is found that reducing the gap can significantly increase the reaction rate, but further reduction in the distance does not improve the rate significantly. The findings provide valuable insights in designing novel plasmonic photocatalytic platforms.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Shota Takahashi, Atsunori Sakurai, Tatsuto Mochizuki, Toshiki Sugimoto
Summary: In this study, we achieved significant enhancement of the nonlinear optical response in a tip-substrate plasmonic nanocavity. By focusing on the near-field second harmonics of a wavelength-tunable femtosecond laser, we demonstrated that the enhancement of nonlinear optical effects occurs over a broad wavelength range from visible to infrared. We also discovered that the sharpness of the tip apexes and the surface geometry of the tip shafts both affect the broadband nonlinear optical property.
JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY LETTERS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Ran Li, Can-Can Zhang, Dan Wang, Yan-Fang Hu, Yong-Long Li, Wei Xie
Summary: The study revealed that gold nanoparticles can change the pathway of photooxidation reactions, converting C-C triple bonds into carboxyl and acyl chloride groups, highlighting the important role of gold nanoparticles in photocatalysis.
CHINESE CHEMICAL LETTERS
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Xi Wang, Kaili Yao, Lihua Liu, Changxu Liu, Hongyan Liang
Summary: The research explores the impact of plasmonic morphology on solar energy conversion efficiency, with experimental evidence showing that nanorods demonstrate better energy performance likely due to the sharp curvature at tips.
JOURNAL OF ALLOYS AND COMPOUNDS
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Hao Wang, Zheng Cao, Liqin Zheng, Xian Wang, Mengke Su, Honglin Liu
Summary: The dimerization of PNTP to DMAB is possibly driven directly by the laser heating effect. In plasmonic photocatalysis, the conversion rate and reaction rate are highly dependent on the size of the gold nanoparticles. The reaction is not only driven by hot electron transfer, but also to a large extent by photothermal conversion. This extraordinary evidence sheds new light on the puzzle of plasmonic photochemical reactions.
CHEMICAL COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Christian Nweze, Tomke E. Glier, Mika Rerrer, Sarah Scheitz, Yalan Huang, Robert Zierold, Robert Blick, Wolfgang J. Parak, Nils Huse, Michael Ruebhausen
Summary: In this study, the plasmonic gold nanoparticles injecting hot carriers into the topological insulator interface of Bi2Se3 nanoribbons were investigated using resonant Raman spectroscopy. The impact of individual gold particles with different sizes on the topological surface states and the phonon modes were resolved. The findings suggest the possibility of locally controlling the electronic properties of the topological insulator by metal nanoparticles through hot carrier injection.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Chih-Feng Wang, Patrick Z. El-Khoury
Summary: The study reveals that nonlinear optical processes can be enhanced at plasmonic tip-sample nanojunctions, allowing for high-spatial-resolution chemical analysis through enhanced spectroscopies.
JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY LETTERS
(2021)
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Gesiane P. Sousa, Anerise de Barros, Flavio M. Shimizu, Fernando A. Sigoli, Italo O. Mazali
Summary: In this work, highly crystalline beta-NaYF4:Yb3+,Er3+@NaYF4:Nd3+@NaYF4 UCNPs capped with an amino-modified nanosized silica shell were coupled with Au nanospheres. The plasmonic-driven dimerization of 4-ATP to DMAB was carried out solely by using the UCNP visible emissions to excite the Au nanoparticle localized surface plasmon resonance band. The reaction was monitored in situ through SERS, and IDMAP method was applied to analyze the SERS spectra acquired during the plasmonic photocatalytic measurements.
ACS APPLIED NANO MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Linan Zhou, Minhan Lou, Junwei Lucas Bao, Chao Zhang, Jun G. Liu, John Mark P. Martirez, Shu Tian, Lin Yuan, Dayne F. Swearer, Hossein Robatjazi, Emily A. Carter, Peter Nordlander, Naomi J. Halas
Summary: This study demonstrates that the H2-D2 exchange reaction catalyzed by Cu nanoparticles is primarily driven by thermalized hot carriers, with an intriguing intensity-dependent external quantum yield exceeding 100% at high light intensities. Quantum mechanical research suggests that vibrational excitations of the surface Cu-H bond are the likely activation mechanism, supporting the effectiveness of low-energy thermalized hot carriers in photocatalyzing this reaction.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2021)
Review
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Yuchao Zhang, Wenxiao Guo, Yunlu Zhang, Wei David Wei
Summary: This review focuses on utilizing photoelectrochemistry to study plasmonic electrodes, providing a comprehensive understanding of hot-hole and hot-electron transfers in chemical reactions. The working principles and applications of spectroelectrochemistry for plasmonic materials are also discussed, highlighting the powerful toolbox that photoelectrochemistry provides for gaining mechanistic insights into plasmonic photocatalysis.
ADVANCED MATERIALS
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Xi Yang, Dong Su, Xie Yu, Pei Zeng, Huageng Liang, Guangzu Zhang, Boxiang Song, Shenglin Jiang
Summary: The controllable nanogap structures enable strong and adjustable localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR). A novel hierarchical plasmonic nanostructure (HPN) is created using colloidal lithography with a rotating coordinate system. The HPN increases the density of hot spots and enhances LSPR tunability and field enhancement. The hot spot engineering strategy of HPNs is demonstrated in surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) applications and allows single-molecule level detection and long-range mapping, providing a platform and guidance for various LSPR applications.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Ran Li, Can-Can Zhang, Dan Wang, Yan-Fang Hu, Yong-Long Li, Wei Xie
Summary: The study revealed that gold nanoparticles can change the pathway of photooxidation reactions, converting C-C triple bonds into carboxyl and acyl chloride groups, highlighting the important role of gold nanoparticles in photocatalysis.
CHINESE CHEMICAL LETTERS
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Cejun Hu, Yanfang Hu, Chenghao Fan, Ling Yang, Yutong Zhang, Haixia Li, Wei Xie
Summary: In this study, label-free surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy was used to monitor the oxygen evolution reaction process on Ni3FeOx nanoparticles, revealing that Fe atoms are responsible for the initial OH- to O-O- oxidation, and the O-O- species undergo further oxidation between neighboring Fe and Ni sites.
ANGEWANDTE CHEMIE-INTERNATIONAL EDITION
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Applied
Cancan Zhang, Yuying Zhang, Wei Xie
Summary: Hybrid plasmonic nanomaterials exhibit high catalytic activity in photocatalysis, with enhanced charge separation at hybrid interfaces. Recent research has focused on synthesizing these materials and their applications, particularly in H-2 production, CO2 reduction, and N-2 fixation.
JOURNAL OF ENERGY CHEMISTRY
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Cejun Hu, Yanfang Hu, Aonan Zhu, Mingming Li, Junli Wei, Yuying Zhang, Wei Xie
Summary: This review summarizes advances in identifying active sites and capturing catalytic surface intermediates, and highlights how structural evolution on 2D materials affects catalytic activity. The importance of developing new in situ techniques and electrokinetic analysis methods is emphasized.
CHEMISTRY-A EUROPEAN JOURNAL
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Dan Wang, Faxing Shi, Jesil Jose, Yanfang Hu, Cancan Zhang, Aonan Zhu, Roland Grzeschik, Sebastian Schlucker, Wei Xie
Summary: The central dilemma in label-free in situ surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) for monitoring of heterogeneously catalyzed reactions is the need of plasmonically active nanostructures for signal enhancement. By assembling catalytically active transition-metal nanoparticles into dimers, their plasmonic activity is significantly enhanced, enabling in situ SERS monitoring of various important heterogeneously catalyzed reactions.
JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Yonglong Li, Teng Wang, Ying Wang, Zhijie Deng, Li Zhang, Aonan Zhu, Yanmin Huang, Cancan Zhang, Mingjian Yuan, Wei Xie
Summary: This paper reports a photon-mediated electron shuttle between paired redox sites on perovskite nanocrystals for the reformation of carbon-halogen bonds, and successfully achieves the transformation of arenes and heteroarenes.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Cancan Zhang, Yonglong Li, Aonan Zhu, Ling Yang, Xiaomeng Du, Yanfang Hu, Xian Yang, Feng Zhang, Wei Xie
Summary: A bifunctional Au-Pd nanocoronal film with plasmonic and catalytic activity was fabricated for in situ SERS monitoring of the Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling reaction. The substrate showed high catalytic activity and a strong SERS effect, leading to fine reproducibility and stability of SERS signals. This work provides a novel approach for studying Suzuki reactions at surfaces and/or interfaces with in situ SERS.
CHINESE CHEMICAL LETTERS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Yanfang Hu, Cejun Hu, Aoxuan Du, Tiantian Xiao, Linfeng Yu, Chengkai Yang, Wei Xie
Summary: Understanding the roles of reactive sites at catalytic interfaces is crucial for the understanding of reaction mechanisms. This study investigated the synergy of CoTd2+ and CoOh3+ active sites in the electrocatalytic oxygen evolution reaction (OER) using CoOx as a model catalyst. By employing in situ surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS), the formation and evolution of reaction intermediates on the catalyst surface were studied. It was found that CoOh3+ acts as the catalytic site for the conversion of OH- to O-O- intermediate species, while CoOOH and CoO2 active centers generated at the CoTd2+ sites serve as the O2 release sites. These findings shed light on the surface component engineering for the rational design of high-performance heterogeneous catalysts.
ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Cancan Zhang, Yonglong Li, Yanfang Hu, Xiaomeng Du, Aonan Zhu, Cejun Hu, Chenghao Fan, Wei Xie
Summary: Light, as a powerful energy source, has stimulated chemists in their pursuit of photochemical transformations. Surprisingly, we have discovered an inhibitory effect of light on hydrogenation reactions. Investigating this previously unnoticed phenomenon will enhance our understanding of light-matter interactions. This research achieves a breakthrough in remote control of chemical reactions through light.
CHEMICAL COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Daniel Schaefer, Jesil Jose, Minmin Xu, Wei Xie, Roland Grzeschik, Sebastian Schluecker
Summary: 4-Nitrothiophenol (4-NTP) is commonly used in SERS-based reduction studies to evaluate the catalytic performance of noble-metal nanoparticles. The reduction of 4-NTP to 4-aminothiophenol (4-ATP) is influenced by the catalyst's morphology, size, and material composition. This reduction reaction occurs via a Langmuir-Hinshelwood mechanism and involves the formation of active Pt-H species. By studying the reduction kinetics of different isomers of NTP on platinum-coated gold nanorods, it was determined through experimental SERS data that the reduction proceeds via hydrogen/hydride transfer rather than electron transfer.
JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY C
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Ling Yang, Roland Grzeschik, Ping Jiang, Linfeng Yu, Cejun Hu, Aoxuan Du, Sebastian Schluecker, Wei Xie
Summary: We demonstrate that the Fermi level of Pt can be tuned by contact electrification of Pt nanoparticle satellites on a gold or silver core. The electronic properties of Pt in such hybrid nanocatalysts were experimentally characterized by XPS and SERS with the probe molecule 2,6-DMPI. Our experimental findings are supported by a hybridization model and DFT calculations. Finally, we show that tuning of the Fermi level of Pt leads to reduced or increased overpotentials in water splitting.
ANGEWANDTE CHEMIE-INTERNATIONAL EDITION
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Yonglong Li, Yangxuan Gao, Zhijie Deng, Yutao Cao, Teng Wang, Ying Wang, Cancan Zhang, Mingjian Yuan, Wei Xie
Summary: This study presents a photocatalytically assisted shuttle strategy using perovskite quantum dot catalysts for reversible vicinal dihalogenation under visible light illumination. The high-energy hot electrons generated by metal-halide perovskite QDs enable the challenging photocatalytic reactions. This work opens up new opportunities for visible-light-driven heterogeneous catalysis in unlocking novel chemical transformations.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Yanfang Hu, Yonglong Li, Linfeng Yu, Yuying Zhang, Yuming Lai, Wei Zhang, Wei Xie
Summary: A universal assembly methodology for preparing hetero-superstructures is introduced in this study, enabling the assembly of building block materials without the need for molecular linkers and utilizing surface property modulation to achieve self-organization. The resulting superstructures exhibit superior photocatalytic activity and Raman scattering performance.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Chenbo Zhu, Chenghao Fan, Emiliano Cortes, Wei Xie
Summary: This study investigates the mechanism of Rhodamine B (RhB) as an electrolyte additive in Li/graphite cells. Through in situ surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS), researchers found that the adsorption orientation of RhB molecules on the surface of graphite can be modulated by the applied potential, improving the cycle performance and rate capability of the battery while suppressing electrolyte solvent decomposition and electrode corrosion. The findings suggest that SERS is a powerful tool for interfacial analysis of battery systems and offer new insights for rational design of electrolyte additives.
JOURNAL OF MATERIALS CHEMISTRY A
(2021)