UV-Visible photo-reactivity of permanently polarized inorganic nanotubes coupled to gold nanoparticles

Sabyasachi Patra (1, 2, 3) , Fabienne Testard (1) , Frédéric Gobeaux (1) , Lorette Sicard (4) , Delphine Shaming (4) , Sophie Le Caër (1, 2) , Antoine Thill (1, 2)

1 LIONS - Laboratoire Interdisciplinaire sur l'Organisation Nanométrique et Supramoléculaire
2 NIMBE UMR 3685 - Nanosciences et Innovation pour les Matériaux, la Biomédecine et l'Energie (ex SIS2M)
3 BARC - Bhabha Atomic Research Centre
4 ITODYS (UMR_7086) - Interfaces, Traitements, Organisation et Dynamique des Systèmes

Hybrid aluminosilicate nanotubes (Imo-CH3) have the ability to trap small organic molecules inside their hydrophobic internal cavity while being dispersed in water owing to their hydrophilic external surface. They also display a curvature-induced polarization of their wall, which favors reduction outside the nanotubes and oxidation inside. Here, we coupled bare plasmonic gold nanoparticles (GNPs) with Imo-CH3 and analyzed for the first time the redox reactivity of these hybrid nano-reactors upon UV illumination. We show that the coupling between GNPs and Imo-CH3 significantly enhances the nanotube photocatalytic activity, with a large part of water reduction occurring directly on the gold surface. The coupling mechanism strongly influences the initial H2 production rate, which can go from ×10 to more than ×90 as compared to bare Imo-CH3 depending on the synthesis route of the GNPs. The present results show that this hybrid photocatalytic nano-reactor benefits from a synergy of polarization and confinement effects that facilitate efficient H2 production.

Mots clés: photo-catalysis nanoconfinement metal-semiconductor coupling water reduction energy production; photo-catalysis; nanoconfinement; metal-semiconductor coupling; water reduction; energy production

Domaines: Chimie

Sabyasachi Patra, Fabienne Testard, Frédéric Gobeaux, Lorette Sicard, Delphine Shaming, et al.. UV-Visible photo-reactivity of permanently polarized inorganic nanotubes coupled to gold nanoparticles. Nanoscale, 2023, 15 (8), pp.4101-4113. ⟨10.1039/D2NR05796D⟩. ⟨hal-04252573⟩