Localized surface plasmon resonance coupling with piezophototronic effect for enhancing hydrogen evolution reaction with Au@MoS2 nanoflowers

The hydrogen evolution rate of Au nanoparticles encapsulated by MoS2 nanoflowers (Au@MoS2 NFs) was dramatically increased through localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) coupling with the piezophototronic effect. The heterostructured Au@MoS2 NFs had highly active reaction sites for intense piezoelectric polarization that established an electric field and a surface plasmon effect to play a crucial role in regulating interfacial charge migration. Simultaneous light irradiation and mechanical vibration applied to the Au@MoS2 NFs increased the hydrogen evolution from 2981 mu mol g-1 h-1 for the solely piezocatalytic process to 4808 mu mol g-1 h-1. The hydrogen evolution rate of the Au@MoS2 NFs was 161% that of pristine MoS2 NFs. The considerable performance improvement was attributed to piezoelectric generation of hot electrons through LSPR. Density functional theory and the finite element method were employed to simulate the charge transfer of the Au@MoS2 NFs under simultaneous light irradiation and mechanical vibration. Greater mechanical strain on the heterostructured catalysts yielded a greater electric field, demonstrating the piezophototronic effect had strong synergy with LSPR and thus increasing the hydrogen evolution rate.

Automated summary

The hydrogen evolution rate of Au nanoparticles encapsulated by MoS2 nanoflowers was significantly increased through the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) coupling with the piezophototronic effect. Simultaneous light irradiation and mechanical vibration applied to the Au@MoS2 NFs increased the hydrogen evolution rate by creating a strong synergy between the piezophototronic effect and LSPR, resulting in a considerable performance improvement. The greater mechanical strain on the heterostructured catalysts yielded a greater electric field, demonstrating the effectiveness of the piezophototronic effect in increasing the hydrogen evolution rate.