Hybrid Colloidal Heterostructures of Anisotropic Semiconductor Nanocrystals Decorated with Noble Metals: Synthesis and Function

This Feature Article offers an overview of hybrid colloidal heterostructures of anisotropic semiconductor nanocrystals decorated with metals; primarily gold and platinum. The nonspherical shapes of the semiconductor components create a great variety of metal-decorated hybrid nanostructures, whose synthesis and morphology are considered here. Due to the current interest in photocatalytic systems able to utilize solar energy for water-splitting, the use of Pt-decorated CdS-based nanorods for hydrogen generation is specifically addressed. Great flexibility of the colloidal synthesis leading to well-defined hybrid semiconductor-metal nanostructures drastically increases the possibility of their integration into functional nanosystems with novel synergetic properties, making them promising candidates for a variety of photovoltaic, catalytic, and sensing applications.