1:30 PM - *QN08.10.01
Towards the Design of Colloidal Nanocrystals for Photonic and Catalytic Applications
Jianfeng Huang1,Raffaella Buonsanti1
École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL)1
Show Abstract
Photonics and catalysis are at the heart of our future transition to a more sustainable society. Colloidal nanocrystals may contribute to this goal, because many photonic and catalytic processes strongly rely on an exquisite manipulation of materials’ physicochemical attributes (e.g., shapes, sizes, compositions, structures, surface chemistry, etc.), which is an original potential of colloidal chemistry. In practice, reasons for insufficiently realized gains from the superior potential in many areas of sustainable technologies include particularly a lack of fundamental understanding of and thereby incapability of target-orientated engineering of promising nanocrystals. In this talk, after a brief discussion of photonics and catalysis in sustainability and colloidal chemistry, I will present my recent work to illustrate how rationally designed nanocrystals can kindle intriguing photonic and catalytic applications, which include “black-body” nanocrystals for solar steam generation,1-3 multifunctional nanocrystals for catalytic hydrogenation and surface-enhanced Raman scattering,4-5 and Cu-based nanocrystals for electrochemical CO2 reduction.6-7
References:
1. Huang, J.; Liu, C.; Zhu, Y.; Masala, S.; Alarousu, E.; Han, Y.; Fratalocchi, A. Harnessing Structural Darkness in the Visible and Infrared Wavelengths for a New Source of Light. Nat. Nanotech. 2016, 11(1), 60.
2. Huang, J.; Zhu, Y.; Liu, C.; Shi, Z.; Fratalocchi, A.; Han, Y. Unravelling Thiol’s Role in Directing Asymmetric Growth of Au Nanorod-Au Nanoparticle Dimers. Nano Lett. 2016, 16(1), 617.
3. Liu, C.#; Huang, J.# (Equal Contribution); Han, Y.; Fratalocchi, A. High Performance Large-scale Solar Steam Generation with Nanolayers of Reusable Biomimetic Nanoparticles. Adv. Sustain. Systems. 2017, 1, 1600013.
4. Huang, J.; Zhu, Y.; Lin, M.; Wang, Q.; Zhao, L.; Yang, Y.; Yao, K. X.; Han, Y. Site-specific Growth of Au–Pd Alloy Horns on Au Nanorods: a Platform for Highly Sensitive Monitoring of Catalytic Reactions by Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2013, 135 (23), 8552.
5. Huang, J.; Zhu, Y.; Liu, C.; Zhao, Y.; Liu, Z.; Hedhili, M. N.; Fratalocchi, A.; Han, Y. Fabricating a Homogeneously Alloyed AuAg Shell on Au Nanorods to Achieve Strong, Stable, and Tunable Surface Plasmon Resonances. Small 2015, 11 (39), 5214.
6. Huang, J.; Hormann, N.; Oveisi, E.; Loiudice, A.; De Gregorio, G.; Andreussi, O.; Marzari, N.; Buonsanti, R. Potential-induced Nanoclustering of Metallic Catalysts during Electrochemical CO2 Reduction. Nat. Commun. 2018, 9, 3117.
7. Huang, J.; Mensi, M.; Oveisi, E.; Mantella, V.; Buonsanti, R. Enhancing Electrochemical Reduction of CO2 into C2 products using CuAg Nanodimers. Submitted, 2018.