Ag plasmon adjusted single crystal Cu2O nanoreactor array with ordered charge transport and light multiplication effect for high photocatalytic conversion of CO2

Abstract

Local surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) is introduced into traditional photocatalytic systems, which has become a research focus. However, there is still a huge gap in the research of LSPR effect, especially the requirement of ideal plasma carrier has not been fully elaborated and planned. Here, a single crystal Cu₂O nanoreactor (Cu₂O-V) was synthesized with surface modified silver nanoparticles as an optical antenna for CO₂ conversion. The precisely designed Cu₂O single crystal structure has a highly ordered atomic arrangement and fewer grain boundary defects, which provides a high-speed electron transport path and greatly improves the stability of Cu⁺. Meanwhile, the vesicle structure and thin shell array formation of Cu₂O-V form a "double light trap", showing prominent LSPR amplification effect. This allows the catalyst to be uniformly immersed in the local electromagnetic field, further increasing the rate of carrier generation and transfer. Finally, under the synergistic action of "double light trap" and LSPR, Ag_5 %-Cu₂O-V shows first-class performance and excellent stability. A small amount of C₂H₄ was also detected. This study reveals the effect of a single crystal Cu₂O catalyst characterized by a high-speed electron transport channel and vesicle array structure combined with LSPR on the photoreactivity.