Alexandria Digital Research Library

Towards Plasmonic Solar to Fuel Conversion

Author:
Horvath, Dayton Thomas
Degree Grantor:
University of California, Santa Barbara. Chemistry and Biochemistry
Degree Supervisor:
Martin Moskovits
Place of Publication:
[Santa Barbara, Calif.]
Publisher:
University of California, Santa Barbara
Creation Date:
2015
Issued Date:
2015
Topics:
Materials science, Chemistry, and Nanotechnology
Keywords:
Mesoporous
Hot electron
Surface plasmon
Anodization
Nanotube
Artificial Photosynthesis
Genres:
Online resources and Dissertations, Academic
Dissertation:
M.S.--University of California, Santa Barbara, 2015
Description:

The need to renewably store and utilize energy from chemical bonds has grown with recent economic and environmental concerns. Plasmonically-enabled devices have shown promise in various photosynthetic processes due to their scalable, cost-effective, and robust performance. Utilizing charge carriers derived from localized surface plasmons, these devices can drive various photoelectrochemical (PEC) reactions, however at limited efficiencies due to incomplete solar absorption. To improve broadband solar absorption in wide bandgap semiconductors, the plasmon resonance of different metal nanostructures in the visible are synthesized using anodic and sol-gel templating methods. Preliminary results suggest that gold nanoparticles and helical metal nanowires are well suited for photosensitization of titania for visible light absorption. Characterization by UV-Visible spectrophotometry, scanning electron microscopy, and photoelectrochemical measurements indicate that these templated methods can be utilized as the basis for synthesizing a variety of photoelectrochemical devices as well as unique plasmonic materials for applications including energy storage, sensing, and catalysis.

Physical Description:
1 online resource (50 pages)
Format:
Text
Collection(s):
UCSB electronic theses and dissertations
ARK:
ark:/48907/f3445jpw
ISBN:
9781339084275
Catalog System Number:
990045715730203776
Rights:
Inc.icon only.dark In Copyright
Copyright Holder:
Dayton Horvath
File Description
Access: Public access
Horvath_ucsb_0035N_12603.pdf pdf (Portable Document Format)