Project description
Characterising advanced plasmonic core-catalytic shell catalysis systems
Catalysis is essential for most industrial reactions in fields from energy to food production. Catalytic systems have advanced greatly in recent years. One such promising system relies on noble metal nanoparticles that exhibit localised surface plasmon resonances (LSPR) – so-called hot electrons – when exposed to ultraviolet, visible or near-infrared electromagnetic fields. Decay of the hot electrons generates energy that can catalyse chemical reactions at the nanoparticle surfaces. Plasmonic metal-catalytic metal combinations enhance catalytic efficiency, but the structures are unstable. With the support of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the HotElecTEM project aims to investigate hot electron generation and transfer in unconventional plasmonic nanostructures at nanoscale resolution. Characterising stability factors will support next-generation photocatalytic materials.
Objective
Noble metal nanoparticles (Au, Ag, Cu) show unique optical properties called localized surface plasmon resonances (LSPR) when interacts with external electromagnetic (EM) waves in the UV-Vis-NIR region. Surface conduction electron of these nanomaterials can gain a huge amount of energy from the decay of the LSPR (Hot electrons) and can drive chemical reaction at the nanoparticle surface. Various metal-semiconductor combinations were observed to generate hot electron, but their catalytic efficiency is very low due to the presence of the Schottky barrier at the interfaces. Plasmonic metal-catalytic metal combination is a major breakthrough in this aspect and was observed to show very good catalytic efficiency contributed by hot electrons. However, they suffer from major structural instability during the reaction condition. Which is inherent in the conventional 3H-hexagonal closed-packed (HCP) structures of these plasmonic nanostructures. Unconventional plasmonic nanostructures of 4H/2H-HCP configuration is considered to have higher mechanical and structural stability compared to the conventional one. In this project, we will look into the hot-electron generation and transfer mechanism of novel bi-metallic unconventional Au nanotriangle (AuNT)@Pd and AuNT@graphene antenna@reactor system in nanoscale spatial resolution experimentally using electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) in aberration-corrected transmission electron microscope (Ac-TEM) and theoretically using time-dependent density functional theory approach. Besides TEM, the nanostructures will be characterized using other high end characterization tools to investigate their structural, optical and chemical properties. Stability of the nanostructures during reaction condition will be studied extensively using dynamical in-situ heating/cooling and biasing holder in an Ac-TEM. These studies will of extreme important to develop next generation photocatalytic materials to replace the conventional fossil-fuels.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- natural sciences physical sciences condensed matter physics quasiparticles
- natural sciences physical sciences optics microscopy
- engineering and technology nanotechnology nano-materials
- natural sciences physical sciences optics spectroscopy
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
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Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
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Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
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Call for proposal
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Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2022-PF-01
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50009 Zaragoza
Spain
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