Gold-Rhodium Nanoflowers for the Plasmon-Enhanced CO2 Electroreduction Reaction upon Visible Light

Bimetallic nanostructures combining catalytic and plasmonic properties are a class of materials that might possess improved efficiency and/or selectivity in electrocatalytic reactions. In this paper, we described the application of gold-rhodium core-shell nanoflowers (Au@Rh NFs) as a model system for the electrochemical CO2 reduction reaction. The nanoparticles consist of a gold nucleus surrounded by rhodium branches, combining Au localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) in the visible range of the spectrum and Rh catalytic properties. The influence of LSPR excitation on the catalytic properties was evaluated for different excitation wavelengths and various Au@Rh NF metallic ratios. Our catalysts showed enhanced activity upon LSPR excitation, demonstrating that LSPR excitation may lead to improved performance even with a low content of metallic NFs (2% Au + Rh in Carbon Vulcan). Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) experiments performed under LSPR excitation suggest that the superior activity under illumination is related to lower energetic barriers that facilitate the desorption of adsorbed species compared to dark conditions.L