Porous noble metal nanosponge plasmonic photocatalysts

Plasmonic catalysis is an emerging technology which holds the promise of utilizing light to facilitate a chemical transformation. Plasmonic materials interact with incident light through the excitation of localized surface plasmon resonance producing highly energetic electron-hole pairs. These hot electrons and holes are very active and get adsorbed to the materials in their surroundings through a series of chemical reactions, providing desired products. The optical properties of these plasmonic metal nanoparticles (Au, Ag, etc.,) varies with their shape, size, arrangement, and surrounding dielectric medium. Since the materials interact with light, investigation of how these materials interact with light is crucial. The overall goal of this project is to investigate the interaction of light with the different plasmonic sponge structures (Au, Ag) with various surrounding media (TiO2, NiO) in the first step and investigation of the ability of these materials for solar energy conversion, and production of clean and green fuels such as hydrogen via water splitting, and carbon dioxide mitigation and water treatment in the second step.

Faculty Supervisor:

Karthik Shankar

Student:

Partner:

Technical University of Munich

Discipline:

Engineering

Sector:

Nanotechnology; Green/Alternative Energy; Environmental Science and Technology

University:

University of Alberta

Program: