Matias Herran, Physics Department, LMU (Munich), Germany

To date, more than 80% of the energy demand is fed by fossil fuels resulting in excessive emissions of CO₂. Hydrogen (H₂) arose as an alternative energy source. Its notably energy density and environmentally friendly combustion makes it an attractive compound. However, the large demand of H₂ is still fulfilled by fossil fuels what encourage to find sustainable ways to produce it.

The combination of plasmonic nanoparticles (PNP) with catalytic metals gives rise to a new set of photocatalysts, enabling to exploit both sunlight harvesting and catalytic properties of individual constituent. However, there is a current debate on which geometrical-configurations
between both metals is the most efficient. We addressed the question by preparing four Au- and Pd-based nanostructures with core-shell and core-satellite architectures and tested them in the generation of H₂ out of Formic Acid.  Our experimental tests combined with optical simulations revealed that core-satellites reach higher light enhancements in comparison to their core-shell analogous. The capability to form  ́hotspots ́ between the two metallic entities leads to an increased local absorption rate, creating a larger number of excited carriers that participate in the photocatalytic process.

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