Plasmonic Metal Nanostructures as Efficient Light Absorbers for Solar Water Splitting

Solar energy has been considered as one of the most promising sustainable energy sources to meet the current energy demands. Plasmonic metal nanostructures, possessing unique localized surface plasmon resonance effects, hold particular strengths in enhancing incident light trapping and extending optical response range across the full solar spectrum. The integration of plasmonic metal nanostructures into photocatalyst systems offers huge opportunities to maximize the utilization of solar energy and improve the conversion efficiency of solar energy into available chemical energy, especially hydrogen fuel cells. Herein, recent research efforts on the applications of plasmonic metal nanostructures in photocatalytic, photoelectrochemical (electro-assisted photocatalytic), and photo-assisted electrocatalytic water splitting, including the hydrogen evolution reaction and the oxygen evolution reaction, are highlighted. In addition, the relevant structure design, mechanism exploration, and performance promotion are summarized and discussed.