Journal
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
Volume 6, Issue -, Pages -Publisher
NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP
DOI: 10.1038/srep22742
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Funding
- Key Project of National Natural Science Foundation of China [U1463204]
- National Natural Science Foundation of China [20903023, 21173045]
- Award Program for Minjiang Scholar Professorship
- Natural Science Foundation (NSF) of Fujian Province for Distinguished Young Investigator Grant [2012J06003]
- Independent Research Project of State Key Laboratory of Photocatalysis on Energy and Environment [2014A05]
- 1st Program of Fujian Province for Top Creative Young Talents
- Program for Returned High-Level Overseas Chinese Scholars of Fujian province
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The recent thrust in utilizing atomically precise organic ligands protected gold clusters (Au clusters) as photosensitizer coupled with semiconductors for nano-catalysts has led to the claims of improved efficiency in photocatalysis. Nonetheless, the influence of photo-stability of organic ligands protected-Au clusters at the Au/semiconductor interface on the photocatalytic properties remains rather elusive. Taking Au clusters-TiO2 composites as a prototype, we for the first time demonstrate the photo-induced transformation of small molecular-like Au clusters to larger metallic Au nanoparticles under different illumination conditions, which leads to the diverse photocatalytic reaction mechanism. This transformation process undergoes a diffusion/aggregation mechanism accompanied with the onslaught of Au clusters by active oxygen species and holes resulting from photo-excited TiO2 and Au clusters. However, such Au clusters aggregation can be efficiently inhibited by tuning reaction conditions. This work would trigger rational structural design and fine condition control of organic ligands protected-metal clusters-semiconductor composites for diverse photocatalytic applications with long-term photo-stability.
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