(Invited) Plasmonic Yolk@Shell Nanocrystals for Photocatalytic Hydrogen Production

Plasmonic photocatalysts have garnered significant attention for hydrogen production due to their unique properties and efficiency in harnessing solar energy. This work is designed to develop yolk@shell nanocrystals as a high-efficiency photocatalyst model. The core yolk is composed of Au nanoparticles, and the shell is composed of hollow non-stoichiometric semiconductors. The compositional defects can induce a large number of free carriers, making non-stoichiometric semiconductors behave like noble metals and exhibit surface plasmon resonance (SPR) absorption. For yolk@shell nanocrystals, the core Au particles can move freely, which can effectively stir the surrounding reaction solution to increase the reaction rate. The confined space between the core particle and the shell layer can function as a nanoreactor to promote species diffusion to enhance catalysis kinetics. In addition, the core Au particles and the shell semiconductor can form metal/semiconductor heterojunction so as to exhibit remarkable photocatalytic performance. Several representative works from our lab will be introduced to demonstrate the promising potentials of plasmonic yolk@shell nanocrystals for hydrogen production applications.