Charge transfer and heat in photocatalysis

Abstract

Photocatalysis occurs very often in the life of ordinary people. Its simplest example is the photosynthesis of plants and algae. It is difficult to overestimate how important this photochemical reaction is because the possibilities of its application are ranging from water purification to the development of a cheap bombed energy source. This work is aimed at a more detailed investigation of the photocatalytic reaction. For this purpose, the present work presents the analysis of the latest and most important research in the field of plasmon-induced photocatalysis. As a model system, the authors mainly used molecules of the thiol group such as nitrobenzenethiol or nitrophenol adsorbed on plasmonic nanoparticles. To characterize the resulting systems, Raman spectroscopy (SERS) was used. It is reported that the main mechanism for triggering photocatalytic reactions is the transition of hot charge carriers under the influence of light, which leads to a local surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) and a change in temperature by internal or external heating of the system. It should be noted that the main factor influencing the photocatalytic activity was not fully determined due to the numerous diverse opinions on the issue.