Semiconductor-metal heterostructures are capable of harvesting solar energy, converting it to potential energy via charge-separation, and subsequently to chemical energy. These hybrid materials become redox-active upon illumination and remain active after several-hours of dark-storage. We present highly reproducible routes for making colloidal CdS1-xSex nanorods and their metal hybrids. Strong emphasis is placed on molecular-level control of semiconductor nanorod composition and morphology, as well as on site-selective metal photo-deposition. Molecular precursor reactivity and lamp irradiance profile play a critical role in controlling relative spatial configuration among a heterostructure components. Tuning spatial composition in such heterostructures will allow engineering and directing energy flows at the nanoscale. The resulting visible-active semiconductor-metal hybrids are photocatalysts for sunlight-driven conversion of biomass-relevant substrates into value-added chemicals and fuels. Ongoing efforts at enhancing photocatalyst performance by immobilization inside mesoporous silica with controlled polarity environments are also described.

Controlled fabrication of semiconductor-metal-silica nanocomposites and their use in photocatalytic biomass conversion

243rd National Meeting (2012)

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