Plasmon-driven electrocatalysis

Our research project

Solar energy, being an abundant and readily available energy resource, possesses great potential in driving environmentally benign chemical transformations. Plasmonic nanoparticles have attracted particular attention as an effective material for solar to chemical energy conversion due to their intrinsic property to generate hot (highly energetic) charge carriers upon illumination. Utilization of hot carriers in chemical synthesis, however, is impeded by their short relaxation times, resulting in low quantum yields. This project aims at developing a single-particle method based on single entity electrochemistry to quantify the interplay between different factors that affect the overall performance of plasmon-driven chemical synthesis and guide the design of highly efficient catalytic materials.