Abstract
Photocatalysis based on optically active, "plasmonic" metal nanoparticles has emerged as a promising approach to facilitate light-driven chemical conversions under far milder conditions than thermal catalysis. However, an understanding of the relation between thermal and electronic excitations has been lacking.We report the substantial light-induced reduction of the thermal activation barrier for ammonia decomposition on a plasmonic photocatalyst. We introduce the concept of a light-dependent activation barrier to account for the effect of light illumination on electronic and thermal excitations in a single unified picture. This framework provides insight into the specific role of hot carriers in plasmon-mediated photochemistry, which is critically important for designing energy-efficient plasmonic photocatalysts.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 69-72 |
Number of pages | 4 |
Journal | Science |
Volume | 362 |
Issue number | 6410 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Oct 5 2018 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General