Double‐Hollow Au@CdS Yolk@Shell Nanostructures as Superior Plasmonic Photocatalysts for Solar Hydrogen Production

• Published in: Advanced Functional Materials Vol. 34; no. 46
• Main Authors: Chen, Yi‐An, Nakayasu, Yuhi, Lin, Yu‐Chang, Kao, Jui‐Cheng, Hsiao, Kai‐Chi, Le, Quang‐Tuyen, Chang, Kao‐Der, Wu, Ming‐Chung, Chou, Jyh‐Pin, Pao, Chun‐Wei, Chang, Tso‐Fu Mark, Sone, Masato, Chen, Chun‐Yi, Lo, Yu‐Chieh, Lin, Yan‐Gu, Yamakata, Akira, Hsu, Yung‐Jung
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hoboken Wiley 01.11.2024; Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
• Subjects: Electric fields; Heterojunctions; hollow Au; hollow CdS; Hot electrons; Hydrogen production; Nanospheres; Nanostructure; Photocatalysis; Photocatalysts; plasmonic; Plasmonics; Plasmons; solar hydrogen production; Structural engineering; yolk@shell
• ISSN: 1616-301X; 1616-3028
• DOI: 10.1002/adfm.202402392

Structural engineering has proven effective in tailoring the photocatalytic properties of semiconductor nanostructures. In this work, a sophisticated double‐hollow yolk@shell nanostructure composed of a plasmonic, mobile, hollow Au nanosphere (HGN) yolk and a permeable, hollow CdS shell is proposed to achieve remarkable solar hydrogen production. The shell thickness of HGN@CdS is finely adjusted from 7.7, 18.4 to 24.5 nm to investigate its influence on the photocatalytic performance. Compared with pure HGN, pure CdS, a physical mixture of HGN and CdS, and a counterpart single‐hollow cit‐Au@CdS yolk@shell nanostructure, HGN@CdS exhibits superior hydrogen production under visible light illumination (λ = 400–700 nm). The apparent quantum yield of hydrogen production reaches 8.2% at 320 nm, 6.2% at 420 nm, and 4.4% at 660 nm. The plasmon‐enhanced activity at 660 nm is exceptional, surpassing the plasmon‐induced photoactivities of the state‐of‐the‐art plasmonic photocatalysts ever reported. The superiority of HGN@CdS originates from the creation of charge separation state at HGN/CdS heterojunction, the considerably long‐lived hot electrons of plasmonic HGN, the magnified electric field, and the advantageous features of double‐hollow yolk@shell nanostructures. The findings can provide a guideline for the rational design of versatile double‐hollow yolk@shell nanostructures for widespread photocatalytic applications. The use of double‐hollow Au@CdS yolk@shell nanostructures as plasmonic photocatalysts for solar hydrogen production is demonstrated. The apparent quantum yield of hydrogen production can reach 8.2% at 320 nm, 6.2% at 420 nm, and 4.4% at 660 nm. The plasmon‐enhanced activity at 660 nm is exceptional, surpassing the plasmon‐induced photoactivities of the state‐of‐the‐art plasmonic photocatalysts ever reported.