Studies of the impact of plasmonic metal nano-particles on co-catalysts/semiconductor photocatalysts in solar water splitting

等离子体金属纳米颗粒对太阳能分解水助催化剂/半导体光催化剂影响的研究

• 批准号: 1437601
• 负责人: Suljo Linic
• 金额: $ 36.18万
• 依托单位: Regents of the University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2014
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2014-09-01 至 2018-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1437601&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Studies; impact; plasmonic; metal; nano

Title: Studies of the impact of plasmonic metal nanoparticles on co-catalyst/semiconductor photocatalysts in solar water splittingIn this project, Professor Suljo Linic of The University of Michigan (Ann Arbor) is developing new materials for photocatalytic splitting of water. The splitting of water driven by solar light is one of the most important chemical transformations for which no efficient materials exist. The lack of success in the pursuit of efficient water splitting photocatalysts clearly indicates that new directions are needed. In their proof-of-concept studies Prof. Linic and coworkers showed that an entirely new class of composite photocatalysts, combining plasmonic metal nanoparticles (characterized by their strong interaction with solar light) with semiconductors, exhibits a great deal of promise. While they shed light on multiple factors that play a role in the performance of these composite photocatalysts, predictive models that can quantify the interplay between these factors and guide the design of optimized materials need to be developed. Without such comprehensive predictive models, it is impossible to discuss the upper performance limits for the composite materials, or to identify the geometries of composite photocatalysts that could achieve these limits. The proposed work will develop these predictive models yielding the critical knowledge base required for the design of optimized composite photocatalysts.It was demonstrated recently that a new class of composite materials, combining semiconductors with plasmonic nanoparticles of coinage metals, exhibit improved performance in photo-catalytic splitting of water using Sun light compared to conventional semiconductor photocatalysts. The plasmonic nanostructures act to selectively trap light in the regions of the semiconductor where the water splitting process is taking place, i.e. the water/semiconductor interface, thereby selectively enhancing the rates of e-/h+ formation in this region and improving the performance of the material. The proof-of-concept work focused on photochemical splitting of water on the composites of nitrogen-doped TiO2 and nanoparticles of Ag. While these initial studies led to a very vibrant field of photochemistry on the composite materials, there are many unanswered critical issues. This award will allow Linic to focus on a number of these issues, including: (i) Establishing that the underlying mechanisms and critical concepts are transferable to other more advanced photocatalyst systems. In particular, more efficient multifunctional photocatalysts that include a co-catalyst and a semiconductor are of interest. (ii) Identifying critical physical properties that govern the performance of plasmonic-metal/co-catalyst/semiconductor photocatalysts. Predictive, physically transparent models that relate optical and geometric properties of photocatalysts to their performance in photocatalytic splitting of water will be the deliverables. These predictive structure/performance relationships are required for the design of composite photocatalysts that can achieve optimal performance. (iii) Validate these models by synthesizing and testing the plasmonic-metal/co-catalyst/semiconductor photocatalysts with optimal physical characteristics. An outreach program developed by Professor Linic to area high schools is allowing local high school students the opportunity to participate in this research and to learn about sustainable energy transformations. Furthermore, significant efforts will be made to expose general public to various fields of sustainable energy generation using World Wide Web. The broader impacts of this work include potential societal benefits from the discovery of new generation of photocatalysts as well as the development of training opportunities for students and teachers.

职务名称：等离子体金属纳米颗粒对太阳能水分解中助催化剂/半导体光催化剂的影响研究在这个项目中，密歇根大学（安阿伯）的Suljo Linic教授正在开发用于光催化分解水的新材料。由太阳光驱动的水的分裂是最重要的化学转化之一，没有有效的材料存在。在追求有效的水分解光催化剂方面缺乏成功，这清楚地表明需要新的方向。在他们的概念验证研究中，Linic教授及其同事表明，一种全新的复合光催化剂，将等离子体金属纳米颗粒（其特征在于与太阳光的强烈相互作用）与半导体相结合，表现出很大的前景。虽然它们揭示了在这些复合光催化剂性能中发挥作用的多种因素，但需要开发可以量化这些因素之间相互作用并指导优化材料设计的预测模型。如果没有这样全面的预测模型，就不可能讨论复合材料的性能上限，也不可能确定可以达到这些限制的复合光催化剂的几何形状。拟议的工作将开发这些预测模型产生的关键知识基础所需的优化复合photocatalysts.It的设计最近表明，一类新的复合材料，结合半导体与等离子体纳米粒子的钴金属，表现出改善的性能，在光催化分解水使用太阳光相比，传统的半导体光催化剂。 等离子体纳米结构用于选择性地将光捕获在发生水裂解过程的半导体区域中，即水/半导体界面，从而选择性地增强该区域中的e-/h+形成速率并改善材料的性能。概念验证工作的重点是光化学分裂的水的氮掺杂的二氧化钛和银纳米粒子的复合材料。虽然这些最初的研究导致了复合材料光化学领域的一个非常活跃的领域，但仍有许多关键问题没有得到解决。该奖项将使Linic能够专注于其中一些问题，包括：（i）确定潜在的机制和关键概念可以转移到其他更先进的光催化剂系统。特别地，包括助催化剂和半导体的更有效的多功能光催化剂是令人感兴趣的。(ii)确定决定等离子体金属/助催化剂/半导体光催化剂性能的关键物理性质。预测性的、物理上透明的模型，将光催化剂的光学和几何特性与其在光催化分解水方面的性能联系起来，将是可交付的成果。这些预测的结构/性能关系是设计可以实现最佳性能的复合光催化剂所必需的。(iii)通过合成和测试具有最佳物理特性的等离子体金属/助催化剂/半导体光催化剂来验证这些模型。Linic教授为地区高中制定的一项推广计划使当地高中生有机会参与这项研究，并了解可持续能源转型。此外，还将作出重大努力，利用万维网使公众了解可持续能源生产的各个领域。这项工作的更广泛影响包括发现新一代光催化剂的潜在社会效益以及为学生和教师提供培训机会。