Plasmon-Enhanced Photocatalysis Based on Plasmonic Nanoparticles for Energy and Environmental Solutions: A Review

Plasmonic nanoparticles are able to enhance the photocatalytic performance of semiconductor nanoparticles using four main mechanisms of light scattering, light concentration, hot electron injections, and plasmon-induced resonance energy transfer. Pushing the semiconductor nanoparticles’ absorption range to the visible and near-infrared and boosting the electron–hole generation quantum yield are the major effects. However, most of the reviewed papers lack a systematic design for conjugation of plasmonic nanoparticles with semiconductor nanoparticles, and they mainly benefited from the general enhancement because of the generated localized surface plasmon resonances. In this Review, we have systematically showed the importance of rational optical design of plasmonic-semiconductor nanoparticle conjugation for an efficient photocatalytic activity. The application of plasmon-enhanced phenomenon for the environmental remediation and green energy production was thoroughly reviewed. The degradation of organic dyes, air pollutants, volatile organic compounds, pesticides, and pharmaceutical compounds were the major reviewed works in environmental applications, while the green energy productions were limited to the role of plasmonic nanoparticles for the enhancement of H2/O2 production, water splitting, and CO2 reduction. This review can be a useful guideline for researchers working on enhancing the photocatalytic activity of the semiconductor nanoparticles and those interested in plasmon-enhanced phenomena by emphasizing the underlying mechanisms.