Prof. XUMING ZHANG
Hong Kong Polytechnic University, China
Title: Solar Photocatalytic Hydrogen Generation using Plasmonic Gold Nanostructures
Abstract:
Plasmonic effect has been extensively applied to enhance the energy efficiency of solar-to-chemical conversion in photocatalysis and photosynthesis [1]. Compared with isolated or disordered metal nanostructures, plasmonic nanostructure arrays with coupling architectures yield strong broadband light harvesting, efficient charge transfer, enhanced local electromagnetic fields, and large contact interfaces. In recent studies [2-5], we have used gold nanostructures to excite various plasmonic modes such as multi-scattering, hot electron injection (HEI) and plasmon-induced resonant energy transfer (PIRET). Together they enhance the utilization of solar light for photocatalytic processes. Detailed experimental and mechanism studies have been conducted to examine the plasmonic enhancement in photocurrent, photodegradation and total water splitting. Our work may find potential applications in optical redox-based sensors and green energy.
Key Words: Plasmonics, photocatalysis, hot electron injection, water splitting
Acknowledgement
This work is supported by the Research Grants Council (RGC) of Hong Kong (CRF C5047-24GF, GRF 15231925), the Innovation and Technology Commission (ITC) of Hong Kong (ITF-MHKJFS MHP/085/22). It is also supported by The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (1-BBEN, 1-CD8U, 1-CDJW, 1-CD4V, 1-CD6U, 1-CD9Q, 1-CDJ8, 1-CDMA, 1-W28S, 4-ZZVZ, 1-CDJ8, 1-CDMA).
Reference
[1] X. Zhang, Y. L. Chen, R.-S. Liu, D. P. Tsai, Plasmonic Photocatalysis, Reports on Progress in Physics 2013, 76, 046401.
[2] Y. L. Wong, H. Jia, A. Jian, D. Lei, A. El Abed, X. Zhang, Enhancing plasmonic hot-carrier generation by strong coupling of multiple resonant modes, Nanoscale 2021, 13, 2792.
[3] H. Jia, Z. Li, B. Wang, G. Xing, Y. L. Wong, H. Ren, M. Li, K.-Y. Wong, D. Lei, L.-W. Wong, J. Zhao, W. Zhang, S. Sang, A. Jian, X. Zhang, Plasmonic nanohole arrays with enhanced visible-light photoelectrocatalytic activity, ACS Photonics 2022, 9, 652.
[4] H. Jia, C. Tsoi, A. El Abed, W. Yu, A. Jian, S. Sang, X. Zhang, Metallic plasmonic nanostructure arrays for enhanced solar photocatalysis, Laser and Photonics Reviews 2023, 17, 2200700.
[5] H. Jia, F. Xie, E. Nefzaoui, T. Bourouina, H. Jiang*, and X. Zhang*, Black silicon nanostructures for solar energy conversion and photonic applications: a review, Advanced Photonics 2025, 7, 034004.
Biography:
Dr. Xuming Zhang is currently a full professor at Hong Kong Polytechnic University affiliated with Department of Applied Physics, Photonics Research Institute (PRI), Research Institute for Advanced Manufacturing (RIAM). He received BEng degree in Precision Mechanical Engineering from the University of Science & Technology of China (USTC) in 1994, and Ph.D. degree from School of Electrical & Electronic Engineering, Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in 2006. His research has produced more than 160 journal papers and has been extensively reported by public media. His current research interests cover mainly nanophotonics, plasmonics, microfluidics, artificial photosynthesis, biomimetics and green energy.