Plasmonic Au nanoclusters dispersed in nitrogen-doped graphene as a robust photocatalyst for light-to-hydrogen conversion

Dung Van Dao; Luis A. Cipriano; Giovanni Di Liberto; Thuy T.D. Nguyen; Sang Woo Ki; Hoki Son; Gyu Cheol Kim; Kang Hyun Lee; Jin Kyu Yang; Yeon Tae Yu; Gianfranco Pacchioni; In Hwan Lee

doi:10.1039/d1ta05445g

Plasmonic Au nanoclusters dispersed in nitrogen-doped graphene as a robust photocatalyst for light-to-hydrogen conversion

Dung Van Dao, Luis A. Cipriano, Giovanni Di Liberto, Thuy T.D. Nguyen, Sang Woo Ki, Hoki Son, Gyu Cheol Kim, Kang Hyun Lee, Jin Kyu Yang, Yeon Tae Yu, Gianfranco Pacchioni, In Hwan Lee

Department of Materials Science and Engineering

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

19 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Supported plasmonic Au nanoclusters (NCs) consisting of a few tens of atoms can potentially offer great advantages for the light-driven hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Here, we report on the synthesis of well-dispersed and stable plasmonic Au NCs of 0.5-1.0 nm size on nitrogen-doped high surface area graphene (N-Gr)viafreeze-drying and pyrolyzing in argon. The Au NCs/N-Gr photocatalyst exhibits under visible-light an impressive HER achievement (3.16 μmol mg_cat⁻¹h⁻¹) compared to Au single atoms/N-Gr (2.06 μmol mg_cat⁻¹h⁻¹) and Au nanoparticles (20 nm size)/N-Gr (0.92 μmol mg_cat⁻¹h⁻¹), with a maximum apparent quantum yield of 14.30%. These performances are synergistically attributed to two effects: (a) the strong surface plasmon resonance stimulated by light absorption and transferred near the surface of Au NCs, where the N-Gr conductive support can prolong the plasmon-produced hot electrons and direct the light-to-hydrogen conversion; (b) a high catalytic efficiency of Au NCs/N-Gr nanocomposites.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	22810-22819
Number of pages	10
Journal	Journal of Materials Chemistry A
Volume	9
Issue number	40
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1039/d1ta05445g
Publication status	Published - 2021 Oct 28

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Chemistry(all)
Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment
Materials Science(all)

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10.1039/d1ta05445g

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Van Dao, D., Cipriano, L. A., Di Liberto, G., Nguyen, T. T. D., Ki, S. W., Son, H., Kim, G. C., Lee, K. H., Yang, J. K., Yu, Y. T., Pacchioni, G., & Lee, I. H. (2021). Plasmonic Au nanoclusters dispersed in nitrogen-doped graphene as a robust photocatalyst for light-to-hydrogen conversion. Journal of Materials Chemistry A, 9(40), 22810-22819. https://doi.org/10.1039/d1ta05445g

@article{a1d5bc061d914fa1aa0316304e69585a,

title = "Plasmonic Au nanoclusters dispersed in nitrogen-doped graphene as a robust photocatalyst for light-to-hydrogen conversion",

abstract = "Supported plasmonic Au nanoclusters (NCs) consisting of a few tens of atoms can potentially offer great advantages for the light-driven hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Here, we report on the synthesis of well-dispersed and stable plasmonic Au NCs of 0.5-1.0 nm size on nitrogen-doped high surface area graphene (N-Gr)viafreeze-drying and pyrolyzing in argon. The Au NCs/N-Gr photocatalyst exhibits under visible-light an impressive HER achievement (3.16 μmol mgcat−1h−1) compared to Au single atoms/N-Gr (2.06 μmol mgcat−1h−1) and Au nanoparticles (20 nm size)/N-Gr (0.92 μmol mgcat−1h−1), with a maximum apparent quantum yield of 14.30%. These performances are synergistically attributed to two effects: (a) the strong surface plasmon resonance stimulated by light absorption and transferred near the surface of Au NCs, where the N-Gr conductive support can prolong the plasmon-produced hot electrons and direct the light-to-hydrogen conversion; (b) a high catalytic efficiency of Au NCs/N-Gr nanocomposites.",

author = "{Van Dao}, Dung and Cipriano, {Luis A.} and {Di Liberto}, Giovanni and Nguyen, {Thuy T.D.} and Ki, {Sang Woo} and Hoki Son and Kim, {Gyu Cheol} and Lee, {Kang Hyun} and Yang, {Jin Kyu} and Yu, {Yeon Tae} and Gianfranco Pacchioni and Lee, {In Hwan}",

note = "Funding Information: This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korean government (MSIT) (NRF-2020R1A2B5B03001603, 2020R1A2C1014498, 2021R1A2C2008447). L. A. C., G. D. L. and G. P. acknowledge the nancial support from the Italian Ministry of University and Research (MIUR) through the PRIN Project 20179337R7, and the grant Dipartimenti di Eccellenza-2017 “Materials for Energy”. Access to the CINECA supercomputing resources (Italy) was granted via ISCRAB. Funding Information: This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korean government (MSIT) (NRF-2020R1A2B5B03001603, 2020R1A2C1014498, 2021R1A2C2008447). L. A. C., G. D. L. and G. P. acknowledge the financial support from the Italian Ministry of University and Research (MIUR) through the PRIN Project 20179337R7, and the grant Dipartimenti di Eccellenza-2017 ?Materials for Energy?. Access to the CINECA supercomputing resources (Italy) was grantedviaISCRAB. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} The Royal Society of Chemistry 2021.",

year = "2021",

month = oct,

day = "28",

doi = "10.1039/d1ta05445g",

language = "English",

volume = "9",

pages = "22810--22819",

journal = "Journal of Materials Chemistry A",

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TY - JOUR

T1 - Plasmonic Au nanoclusters dispersed in nitrogen-doped graphene as a robust photocatalyst for light-to-hydrogen conversion

AU - Van Dao, Dung

AU - Cipriano, Luis A.

AU - Di Liberto, Giovanni

AU - Nguyen, Thuy T.D.

AU - Ki, Sang Woo

AU - Son, Hoki

AU - Kim, Gyu Cheol

AU - Lee, Kang Hyun

AU - Yang, Jin Kyu

AU - Yu, Yeon Tae

AU - Pacchioni, Gianfranco

AU - Lee, In Hwan

N1 - Funding Information: This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korean government (MSIT) (NRF-2020R1A2B5B03001603, 2020R1A2C1014498, 2021R1A2C2008447). L. A. C., G. D. L. and G. P. acknowledge the nancial support from the Italian Ministry of University and Research (MIUR) through the PRIN Project 20179337R7, and the grant Dipartimenti di Eccellenza-2017 “Materials for Energy”. Access to the CINECA supercomputing resources (Italy) was granted via ISCRAB. Funding Information: This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korean government (MSIT) (NRF-2020R1A2B5B03001603, 2020R1A2C1014498, 2021R1A2C2008447). L. A. C., G. D. L. and G. P. acknowledge the financial support from the Italian Ministry of University and Research (MIUR) through the PRIN Project 20179337R7, and the grant Dipartimenti di Eccellenza-2017 ?Materials for Energy?. Access to the CINECA supercomputing resources (Italy) was grantedviaISCRAB. Publisher Copyright: © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2021.

PY - 2021/10/28

Y1 - 2021/10/28

N2 - Supported plasmonic Au nanoclusters (NCs) consisting of a few tens of atoms can potentially offer great advantages for the light-driven hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Here, we report on the synthesis of well-dispersed and stable plasmonic Au NCs of 0.5-1.0 nm size on nitrogen-doped high surface area graphene (N-Gr)viafreeze-drying and pyrolyzing in argon. The Au NCs/N-Gr photocatalyst exhibits under visible-light an impressive HER achievement (3.16 μmol mgcat−1h−1) compared to Au single atoms/N-Gr (2.06 μmol mgcat−1h−1) and Au nanoparticles (20 nm size)/N-Gr (0.92 μmol mgcat−1h−1), with a maximum apparent quantum yield of 14.30%. These performances are synergistically attributed to two effects: (a) the strong surface plasmon resonance stimulated by light absorption and transferred near the surface of Au NCs, where the N-Gr conductive support can prolong the plasmon-produced hot electrons and direct the light-to-hydrogen conversion; (b) a high catalytic efficiency of Au NCs/N-Gr nanocomposites.

AB - Supported plasmonic Au nanoclusters (NCs) consisting of a few tens of atoms can potentially offer great advantages for the light-driven hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Here, we report on the synthesis of well-dispersed and stable plasmonic Au NCs of 0.5-1.0 nm size on nitrogen-doped high surface area graphene (N-Gr)viafreeze-drying and pyrolyzing in argon. The Au NCs/N-Gr photocatalyst exhibits under visible-light an impressive HER achievement (3.16 μmol mgcat−1h−1) compared to Au single atoms/N-Gr (2.06 μmol mgcat−1h−1) and Au nanoparticles (20 nm size)/N-Gr (0.92 μmol mgcat−1h−1), with a maximum apparent quantum yield of 14.30%. These performances are synergistically attributed to two effects: (a) the strong surface plasmon resonance stimulated by light absorption and transferred near the surface of Au NCs, where the N-Gr conductive support can prolong the plasmon-produced hot electrons and direct the light-to-hydrogen conversion; (b) a high catalytic efficiency of Au NCs/N-Gr nanocomposites.

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85117502009&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1039/d1ta05445g

DO - 10.1039/d1ta05445g

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85117502009

SN - 2050-7488

VL - 9

SP - 22810

EP - 22819

JO - Journal of Materials Chemistry A

JF - Journal of Materials Chemistry A

IS - 40

ER -

Plasmonic Au nanoclusters dispersed in nitrogen-doped graphene as a robust photocatalyst for light-to-hydrogen conversion

Abstract

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