Role of Plasmonic Metal-semiconductor Heterostructure in Photo Catalytic Hydrolysis and Degradation of Toxic Dyes

Plasmonic metal-semiconductor heterostructure has become the most prominent content for water splitting by photocatalytic means. It is thought to be an effective, clean, and affordable energy source. Hydrolysis, water splitting, and destruction of organic dyes have all demonstrated the high efficiency of LSPR formation by these materials. A noble metal combined with a low bandgap semiconductor makes for the perfect photocatalyst. In this case, both semiconductors and noble metals can absorb visible light. They are prone to producing positive and negative pairs and inhibit their recombination, causing the resulting electron-hole pairs to interact with the chemicals in the immediate environment, thereby increasing photocatalytic activity. The strong SPR's combined effect with the efficient separation of photogenerated electrons and holes supported by noble metal particles can be credited with the increased photocatalytic activity. It has become a useful method for overcoming the limitations of conventional photocatalysts and promoting photocatalytic mechanisms.

This book chapter has three main goals: briefly describing plasmonic dynamics, explaining the preparation techniques, analyzing the key characteristics of the plasmonic metal nanostructure that influence photocatalysis, summarizing the reported literature, and offering an in-depth explanation of the four fundamental plasmonic energy transfer process.