Using ‘core@shell’ nanocrystals with atomically conformal metal laminations, researchers have created a method that greatly increases the performance of plasmonic photocatalysts.
Core@shells Nanocrystals with a core surrounded by a shell can use the interfacial synergy between the core and shell equivalents, making them useful in catalysis, electronics, and displays. The core plasmonic nanoparticles (gold) surface in the core@shell structures is uniformly coated with catalytically active transition metals (platinum, palladium, ruthenium, and rhodium). The surface of hybrid photocatalysts can efficiently transform light energy into chemical energy when exposed to light.
The researchers created a nanostructure confinement system that eliminates the elements that promote thick shell growth in traditional procedures and a technology that allows plasmonic nanoparticles to be separated separately in solution. The researchers could coat the surface of the plasmonic nanocrystals with very thin and homogeneous laminations with a thickness of an atom by irradiating a light source. It’s comparable to a thin film being applied to the surface of a pill in a capsule.