Controllable fabrications of multicore-shell Au@ZnO nanostructures for plasmonic photocatalysis

Core-shell nanostructures have attracted the interest of many researchers due to their unique structural features and suitable band structure match. However, the fabricated core-shell nanostructures generally have only one core, which makes it challenging to explore the collective effect of multiple cores. Herein, two kinds of multicore-shell Au@ZIF-8 and Au@ZnO were synthesized, focusing on the effect of Au concentration on the optical and photocatalytic properties of the latter. By controlling the concentration of Au precursor, different quantities of Au NPs can be encapsulated in one ZIF-8 nanocrystal. Consequently, the hybridization effect and its localized surface plasmon resonance effect of Au NPs could also be accordingly regulated, with Au-0.4@ZnO showing the best photocatalytic activity. This work offers a new inspiration on regulating the plasmonic properties of the multicore-shell nanostructure, which holds an appealing prospect in plasmonic photocatalysis, surface-enhanced Raman scattering detection, and intermediates identification in catalytic reactions.