Catalysis with Au-tipped CdSe nanorod clusters
Wednesday, May 7, 2014 - 09:32
in Physics & Chemistry
Clusters of gold (Au)-tipped CdSe nanorods were synthesized by researchers in the Center for Nanoscale Materials Nanophotonics Group through nanorod polymerization driven by the controlled welding of the Au tips. The Au-tipped CdSe nanorods were found to significantly increase the efficiency for charge separation and collection of energetic electrons in the Au nanoparticles, leading to an exceptional improvement in photocatalyzing multiple-electron reduction (MER) reactions, even in aerobic aqueous solutions at room temperature. The results represent the first use of hybrid metal-semiconductor nanomaterials for efficient photocatalysis involving multiple-charge reactions.