Poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA)-stabilized Au nanoparticles (NPs) were synthesized by colloidal methods in which temperature variations (−75 to 75 °C) and mixed H2O/EtOH solvent ratios (0, 50, and 100 vol/vol) were used. The resulting Au NPs were immobilized on TiO2 (P25), and their catalytic performance was investigated for the liquid phase oxidation of glycerol. For each unique solvent system, ther...

Tuning the photonic band gap (PBG) to the electronic band gap (EBG) of Au/TiO2 catalysts resulted in considerable enhancement of the photocatalytic water splitting to hydrogen under direct sunlight. Au/TiO2 (PBG-357 nm) photocatalyst exhibited superior photocatalytic performance under both UV and sunlight compared to the Au/TiO2 (PBG-585 nm) photocatalyst and both are higher than Au/TiO2 withou...

Atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) of 4-vinylpyridine, t-butyl acrylate, and styrene in sequential order from a β-cyclodextrin core yielded an amphiphilic starlike triblock copolymer, poly(4-vinylpyridine)-block-poly(tbutyl acrylate)-block-polystyrene (P4VP-b-PtBA-b-PS). Subsequently, star-like triblock copolymer composed of inner hydrophilic P4VP blocks, central hydrophobic PtBA block...

This paper reports the synthesis of a new type of Au@TiO2 yolk-shell nanostructures by integrating ion sputtering method with atomic layer deposition (ALD) technique and its applications as visible light-driven photocatalyst and surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) substrate. Both the size and amount of gold nanoparticles confined in TiO2 nanotubes could be facilely controlled via properl...

Porous Ag/TiO2/Au coatings with excellent multipactor suppression were prepared by fabrication of porous Ag surface through two-step wet chemical etching, synthesis of TiO2 coatings by electroless-plating-like solution deposition and deposition of Au coatings via electroless plating. Porous structure of Ag surface, TiO2 coatings on porous Ag surface and Au coatings on porous Ag/TiO2 surface wer...

Polarization modulation infrared reflection absorption spectroscopy (PM-IRAS) was used to investigate the effects of water on CO oxidation catalyzed by TiO2 supported Au. The introduction of water into the reactant mixture caused two effects: (1) a decrease in the CO coverage; and (2) the appearance of a carbonate species. Since both effects inhibit CO oxidation, the promotional effects of wate...

We found that plasmonic Au particles on titanium(iv) oxide (TiO2) act as a visible-light-driven photocatalyst for overall water splitting free from any additives. This is the first report showing that surface plasmon resonance (SPR) in a suspension system effectively induces overall water splitting. Modification with various types of metal nanoparticles as co-catalysts enhanced the evolution of...

This project is an extension of TEM work conducted on a previous AINSE funded project AINGRA08066, and aims to use the TEM, STEM/HAADF, EDS and plasmon imaging facilities at ANSTO to structurally characterize novel supported silver nanoparticle catalysts for ozone abatement, and supported gold catalysts for low temperature CO oxidation. The catalysts, fabricated at the University of Auckland, c...

To investigate the plasmonic effect in perovskite solar cells, the effect of depositing Au@SiO2 nanoparticles on the top and the bottom of mesoporous TiO2 layers was studied. First, Au@SiO2 nanoparticles were synthesized. The particles were then deposited at the different interfaces of mesoporous TiO2 layers. Although the two structures show approximately similar optical absorption, only cells ...

We demonstrate a tandem-structured, hot electron based photovoltaic cell with double Schottky barriers. The tandem-structured, hot electron based photovoltaic cell is composed of two metal/semiconductor interfaces. Two types of tandem cells were fabricated using TiO2/Au/Si and TiO2/Au/TiO2, and photocurrent enhancement was detected. The double Schottky barriers lead to an additional pathway for...