Division of Nanoscience and Technology, Anna University-BIT Campus, Tiruchirappalli, 620024, India; Department of Physics and Nanotechnology, College Engineering and Technology, SRM Institute of Science and Technology, SRM Nagar, Kattankulathur, 603 203, Chengalpattu, Tamilnadu, India.
Quantum-Functional Semiconductor Research Center (QSRC), South Korea; Nano-Information Technology Academy (NITA), Dongguk University, Seoul, South Korea.
Chemosphere. 2021 Oct;280:130594. doi: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2021.130594. Epub 2021 Apr 28.
Integration of semiconducting nanostructures with noble metal nanoparticles are turning highly desirable for cost efficient energy and environmental related applications. From this viewpoint, we report on a facile aqueous synthesis of polymer capped gold (Au) nanoparticles on free standing 2D layered structures of zinc oxide (ZnO) to result with ZnO/Au nanocomposites. Concentration of Au nanoparticles were observed to promote the preferential growth of ZnO along the (002) wurtzite plane. The ZnO/Au structures and their morphological dissemination was noted to be of few. This flake like structure was also noted to be greatly influenced by the concentration of Au in the colloidal blend. Optical band edge transformations noted in the absorption spectra across the lower wavelength region and the shift in surface plasmon resonance (SPR) towards the red region of the visible spectrum signify the improved absorptivity of the heterostructures along the visible spectrum. These heterostructures exhibited remarkable visible light driven photocatalytic activity (99% efficiency) on par with pristine ZnO. The findings also attest this new class of composite structures to open up new openings in diversified solar energy conversion related functions.
将半导体纳米结构与贵金属纳米粒子集成对于成本效益高的能源和环境相关应用是非常理想的。从这个角度来看，我们报告了一种在独立的二维层状氧化锌（ZnO）结构上通过简便的水相合成聚合物包覆的金（Au）纳米粒子，从而得到 ZnO/Au 纳米复合材料。观察到 Au 纳米粒子的浓度促进了 ZnO 沿着（002）纤锌矿平面的优先生长。注意到 ZnO/Au 结构及其形态的分散性很小。这种片状结构也被注意到受到胶体混合物中 Au 浓度的极大影响。在吸收光谱中在较低波长区域的光带边缘转变和表面等离子体共振（SPR）向可见光谱的红色区域的位移表明了沿着可见光谱的异质结构的吸收能力的提高。这些异质结构在可见光驱动下表现出显著的光催化活性（99%效率），与原始 ZnO 相当。这些发现还证明了这种新型复合结构在多样化的太阳能转换相关功能方面开辟了新的途径。
