Hybrid nanostructures composed of semiconductor and plasmonic metal components are receiving extensive attention. They display extraordinary optical characteristics that are derived from the ...simultaneous existence and close conjunction of localized surface plasmon resonance and semiconduction, as well as the synergistic interactions between the two components. They have been widely studied for photocatalysis, plasmon‐enhanced spectroscopy, biotechnology, and solar cells. In this review, the developments in the field of (plasmonic metal)/semiconductor hybrid nanostructures are comprehensively described. The preparation of the hybrid nanostructures is first presented according to the semiconductor type, as well as the nanostructure morphology. The plasmonic properties and the enabled applications of the hybrid nanostructures are then elucidated. Lastly, possible future research in this burgeoning field is discussed.
(Plasmonic metal)/semiconductor hybrid nanostructures are currently of increasing interest owing to their rich and attractive physical and chemical properties derived from localized plasmon resonance and semiconduction. In this article, the preparation, properties, and applications of this type of hybrid nanostructure are reviewed. Future directions in this field are also discussed.
Plasmonic structures exhibit promising applications in high‐resolution and durable color generation. Research on advanced hybrid plasmonic materials that allow dynamically reconfigurable color ...control has developed rapidly in recent years. Some of these results may give rise to practically applicable reflective displays in living colors with high performance and low power consumption. They will attract broad interest from display markets, compared with static plasmonic color printing, for example, in applications such as digital signage, full‐color electronic paper, and electronic device screens. In this progress report, the most promising recent examples of utilizing advanced plasmonic materials for the realization of dynamic color display are highlighted and put into perspective. The performances, advantages, and disadvantages of different technologies are discussed, with emphasis placed on both the potential and possible limitations of various hybrid materials for dynamic plasmonic color display.
Dynamically reconfigurable control of plasmonic colors has great potential in the realization of full‐color reflective visual displays with high performance and low energy consumption. This progress report provides a focused overview of recent development in utilizing advanced plasmonic materials for the realization of dynamic color displays.
Gold nanorods (NRs), pseudo-one-dimensional rod-shaped nanoparticles (NPs), have become one of the burgeoning materials in the recent years due to their anisotropic shape and adjustable plasmonic ...properties. With the continuous improvement in synthetic methods, a variety of materials have been attached around Au NRs to achieve unexpected or improved plasmonic properties and explore state-of-the-art technologies. In this review, we comprehensively summarize the latest progress on Au NRs, the most versatile anisotropic plasmonic NPs. We present a representative overview of the advances in the synthetic strategies and outline an extensive catalogue of Au-NR-based heterostructures with tailored architectures and special functionalities. The bottom-up assembly of Au NRs into preprogrammed metastructures is then discussed, as well as the design principles. We also provide a systematic elucidation of the different plasmonic properties associated with the Au-NR-based structures, followed by a discussion of the promising applications of Au NRs in various fields. We finally discuss the future research directions and challenges of Au NRs.
The photochemical production of fuels using sunlight is an innovative way for meeting the quickly increasing energy demands. One of the largest challenges is to develop high‐performance ...photocatalysts that can meet the requirements of practical applications. Owing to their intriguing localized surface plasmon resonances, noble metal nanoparticles and nanostructures show a great potential for enhancing the photocatalytic efficiency and thereby have attracted rapidly growing interest recently. Here, for the first time, the latest achievements in the utilization of plasmons in driving CO2 reduction and N2 fixation into high‐value products are comprehensively described. The involved plasmonic enhancement mechanisms in the two types of reactions are fully illustrated. A particular emphasis is given to the outlook on the direction and prospects for future work in this topic.
Photocatalytic solar‐to‐fuel conversion is of high potential in tackling energy shortage and environmental issues. The emerging applications of plasmons in the enhancement of the conversion efficiency toward practical relevance have recently gathered much attention. A focused overview of the recent studies in the use of plasmons for the photocatalytic CO2 reduction and N2 fixation is provided.
Silver nanostructures with narrow plasmon linewidths and good chemical stability are strongly desired for plasmonic applications. Herein, a facile method is discussed for the preparation of Ag ...nanostructures with narrow plasmon linewidths and improved chemical stability through Ag overgrowth on monodispersed Au nanobipyramids. Structural evolution from bipyramid through rice to rod is observed, indicating that Ag atoms are preferentially deposited on the side surfaces of Au nanobipyramids. The resultant (Au nanobipyramid)@Ag nanostructures possess high size and shape uniformities, and much narrower plasmon linewidths than other Ag nanostructures. The spectral evolution of the supported Ag nanostructures is ascertained by both ensemble and single‐particle characterizations, together with electrodynamic simulations. Systematic measurements of the refractive index sensing characteristics indicate that Ag nanostructures in this study possess high index sensitivities and figure of merit (sensitivity divided by linewidth) values. Moreover, Ag nanostructures in this study exhibit greatly improved chemical stability. The superior sensing capability of Ag nanostructures in this study is further demonstrated by the detection of sulfide ions at a relatively low detection limit. Taken together, results of this study show that the Au‐nanobipyramid‐supported Ag nanostructures will be an outstanding candidate for the design of ultrasensitive plasmonic sensing devices as well as for the development of other plasmon‐enabled technological applications.
Silver nanostructures of controllable plasmon wavelengths are synthesized by the use of highly pure, highly uniform gold nanobipyramids as supports. They are nearly monodispersed in size and shape, possess narrow plasmon linewidths, high refractive index sensitivities, and figure of merit values. They are expected to be useful in developing ultrasensitive plasmonic sensors.
High‐performance electrochemical plasmonic switching is realized on both single‐particle and ensemble levels by coating polyaniline on colloidal gold nanocrystals through surfactant‐assisted ...oxidative polymerization. Under small applied potentials, the core@shell nanostructures exhibit reversible plasmon shifts as large as 150 nm, a switching time of less than 10 ms, and a high switching stability.
More than skin deep: A selective silica coating on the ends and side of gold nanorods enables the successful selective overgrowth of palladium, gold, platinum, and silver on these surfaces. As a ...result, eight types of unprecedented metal homo‐ and heterostructures are produced.
Evolution of the sizes and plasmonic properties of (Au core)−(Ag shell) nanorods is studied. Four plasmon bands are observed on the core−shell nanorods and their properties are investigated. The ...lowest‐energy one belongs to the longitudinal dipolar plasmon mode, the second‐lowest‐energy one belongs to the transverse dipolar plasmon mode, and the two highest‐energy ones are ascribed to octupolar plasmon modes.
•Elevated COD concentrations deteriorate the anammox activity.•Anammox activity is recovered with the decreasing COD/TN due to nitrite addition.•Primary phylum shifts from Chloroflexi to ...Proteobacteria with the elevated COD load.
Nitrogen removal with different organic carbon effect was investigated using anaerobic baffled reactor (ABR) anammox reactor. Results indicated that organic carbon exert an important effect on nitrogen removal through anammox process. When the feeding COD concentration was lower than 99.7mgL−1, nitrogen removal could be enhanced via the coexistence of denitrification and anammox. Elevated COD could further deteriorate the anammox activity with almost complete inhibition at the COD concentration of 284.1mgL−1. The nitrogen removal contribution rate of anammox was varied from 92.7% to 6.9%. However, the anammox activity was recovered when the COD/TN was decreased from 2.33 to 1.25 with influent nitrite addition. And, the anammox process was again intensified from 27.0 to 51.2%. High-throughput Miseq sequencing analyses revealed that the predominant phylum changed from Chloroflexi to Proteobacteria with the elevated COD addition, which indicated COD concentration was the most important factor regulating the bacterial community structure.
Tailoring the longitudinal surface plasmon wavelengths (LSPWs), scattering, and absorption cross sections of gold nanorods has been demonstrated by combining anisotropic shortening and transverse ...overgrowth and judiciously choosing starting Au nanorods. Shortening yields Au nanorods with decreasing lengths but a fixed diameter, while overgrowth produces nanorods with increasing diameters but a nearly unchanged length. Two series of Au nanorods with LSPWs varying in the same spectral range but distinct extinction coefficients are thus obtained. The systematic changes in the LSPW and extinction for the two series of Au nanorods are found to be in good agreement with those obtained from Gans theory. Dark-field imaging performed on two representative nanorod samples with similar LSPWs shows that the scattering intensities of the overgrown nanorods are much larger than those of the shortened nanorods. The experimental results are found to be in very good agreement with those obtained from finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) calculations. FDTD calculations further reveal that the scattering-to-extinction ratio increases linearly as a function of the diameter for Au nanorods with a fixed aspect ratio.
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