Observation charge accumulation at nanocavity on plasmonic photocatalyst

Understanding where the plasmonic charge accumulated at catalysts surface and how to improve local charge density at catalytic sites is promising for solar energy conversion. Scientists find plasmonic charge accumulation at nanocavity of Au nanoparticle dimer/TiO2 photocatalyst at the single particle level. Such charge accumulation at catalytic sites can significantly accelerate the water oxidation reaction with nearly one order of magnitude enhancement in the photocatalytic activities compared to Au nanoparticles on TiO2.