Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications
Document Type
Article
Abstract
The effect of hole localization on photocatalytic activity of Pt-tipped semiconductor nanocrystals is investigated. By tuning the energy balance at the semiconductor-ligand interface, we demonstrate that hydrogen production on Pt sites is efficient only when electron-donating molecules are used for stabilizing semiconductor surfaces. These surfactants play an important role in enabling an efficient and stable reduction of water by heterostructured nanocrystals as they fill vacancies in the valence band of the semiconductor domain, preventing its degradation. In particular, we show that the energy of oxidizing holes can be efficiently transferred to a ligand moiety, leaving the semiconductor domain intact. This allows reusing the inorganic portion of the "degraded" nanocrystal-ligand system simply by recharging these nanoparticles with fresh ligands.
Copyright Statement
Publisher PDF
Repository Citation
Acharya, Krishna P.; Khnayzer, Rony S.; O’Connor, Timothy; Diederich, Geoffrey; Kirsanova, Maria; Klinkova, Anna; Roth, Daniel; Kinder, Erich; Imboden, Martene; and Zamkov, Mikhail, "The Role of Hole Localization in Sacrificial Hydrogen Production by Semiconductor-Metal Heterostructured Nanocrystals" (2011). Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications. 7.
https://scholarworks.bgsu.edu/physics_astronomy_pub/7
Publication Date
7-2011
Publication Title
Nano Letters
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1021/nl201388c
Start Page No.
2919
End Page No.
2926