Journal
SMALL
Volume 8, Issue 2, Pages 291-297Publisher
WILEY-V C H VERLAG GMBH
DOI: 10.1002/smll.201101317
Keywords
nanocrystalline materials; nanoparticles; charge transfer; laser spectroscopy; photocatalysis
Categories
Funding
- German Research Foundation (DFG) through the Nanosystems Initiative Munich (NIM)
- LMUexcellent program
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Noble-metal-decorated colloidal semiconductor nanocrystals are currently receiving significant attention for photocatalytic hydrogen generation. A detailed knowledge of the charge-carrier dynamics in these hybrid systems under hydrogen generation conditions is crucial for improving their performance. Here, a transient absorption spectroscopy study is conducted on colloidal, Pt-decorated CdS nanorods addressing this issue. Surprisingly, under hydrogen generation conditions (i.e., in the presence of the hole-scavenger sodium sulfite), photoelectron transfer to the catalytically active Pt is slower than without the hole scavenger, where no significant hydrogen generation occurs. This unexpected behavior can be explained by different degrees of localization of the electron wavefunction in the presence and absence of holes on the nanorods, which modify the electron transfer rates to the Pt. The results show that solely optimizing charge transfer rates in photocatalytic nanosystems is no guarantee of improved performance. Instead, the collective Coulomb interaction-mediated electronhole dynamics need to be considered.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available