Plasmon-Enhanced Solar Water Splitting on Metal-Semiconductor Photocatalysts.

Photocatalytic water splitting using solar energy has been widely studied as a promising method for clean energy production. Continued efforts have been made to enhance the performance of solar-to-fuel energy conversion. The introduction of localized surface plasmon resonance (SPR) has been proposed as a promising strategy to enhance the efficiency of photocatalytic water splitting. This review presents an overview of the recent progress in the development of plasmonic photocatalysts for solar water splitting. Plasmon-enhanced mechanisms, including hot electron injection, near-field effects, and light scattering/trapping, are discussed. Furthermore, recent relevant works to discuss the emerging strategies for efficiency improvement and better understanding of the mechanisms are summarized. Finally, the perspectives of plasmonic photocatalysts for water splitting and the possible research directions are presented and discussed.

Zheng Z ，Xie W ，Huang B ，Dai Y ... -  《-》

Surface Plasmon-Assisted Solar Energy Conversion.

Dodekatos G ，Schünemann S ，Tüysüz H 《-》

Mechanistic Understanding of the Plasmonic Enhancement for Solar Water Splitting.

H2 generation by solar water splitting is one of the most promising solutions to meet the increasing energy demands of the fast developing society. However, the efficiency of solar-water-splitting systems is still too low for practical applications, which requires further enhancement via different strategies such as doping, construction of heterojunctions, morphology control, and optimization of the crystal structure. Recently, integration of plasmonic metals to semiconductor photocatalysts has been proved to be an effective way to improve their photocatalytic activities. Thus, in-depth understanding of the enhancement mechanisms is of great importance for better utilization of the plasmonic effect. This review describes the relevant mechanisms from three aspects, including: i) light absorption and scattering; ii) hot-electron injection and iii) plasmon-induced resonance energy transfer (PIRET). Perspectives are also proposed to trigger further innovative thinking on plasmonic-enhanced solar water splitting.

Zhang P ，Wang T ，Gong J 《-》

Tantalum-based semiconductors for solar water splitting.

Zhang P ，Zhang J ，Gong J 《-》

Plasmonic-metal nanostructures for efficient conversion of solar to chemical energy.

Linic S ，Christopher P ，Ingram DB 《-》