Self-assembled plasmonic nanostructures for photoelectrochemical water splitting

Abstract

Recently, harnessing sustainable energies has been demanded due to environmental issues caused by use of fossil fuels. As one of methods to utilize sustainable energies, solar-to-hydrogen conversion through photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting has attracted attention. However, various light-harvesting materials are either unstable under oxidative environment of water oxidation or poor at absorbing wide spectrum. In the study, I report a plasmonic photoanode by utilizing gold nanoparticles as a stable light-harvesting matetial, which contains multi-layered plasmonic nanostructures fabricated via layer-by-layer self-assembly and a catalyst for oxygen evolution reaction. Various enhancement mechanisms induced by surface plasmon resonance can occur in the plasmonic photoanode, improving PEC water splitting. Light absorption properties, structures, and PEC performances of the photoanode are investigated.