Despite many promising reports of plasmon-enhanced photocatalysis, the inability to identify the individual contributions from multiple enhancement mechanisms has delayed the development of general design rules for engineering efficient plasmonic photocatalysts. Herein, a plasmonic photocathode comprised of Au@SiO₂ (core@shell) nanoparticles embedded within a Cu₂O nanowire network is constructed to exclusively examine the contribution from one such mechanism: electromagnetic near-field enhancement. The influence of the local electromagnetic field intensity is correlated with the overall light-harvesting efficiency of the device through variation of the SiO₂ shell thickness (5–22 nm) to systematically tailor the distance between the plasmonic Au nanoparticles and the Cu₂O nanowires. A threefold increase in device photocurrent is achieved upon integrating the Au@SiO₂ nanoparticles into the Cu₂O nanowire network, further enabling a 40% reduction in semiconductor film thickness while maintaining photocathode performance. Photoelectrochemical results are further correlated with photoluminescence studies and optical simulations to confirm that the near-field enhancement is the sole mechanism responsible for increased light absorption in the plasmonic photocathode.

Ideal solar-to-fuel photocatalysts must effectively harvest sunlight to generate significant quantities of long-lived charge carriers necessary for chemical reactions. Here we demonstrate the merits of augmenting traditional photoelectrochemical cells with plasmonic nanoparticles to satisfy these daunting photocatalytic requirements. Electrochemical techniques were employed to elucidate the mechanics of plasmon-mediated electron transfer within Au/TiO₂ heterostructures under visible-light (λ>515 nm) irradiation in solution. Significantly, we discovered that these transferred electrons displayed excited-state lifetimes two orders of magnitude longer than those of electrons photogenerated directly within TiO₂ via UV excitation. These long-lived electrons further enable visible-light-driven H₂ evolution from water, heralding a new photocatalytic paradigm for solar energy conversion.

Ideal solar-to-fuel photocatalysts must effectively harvest sunlight to generate significant quantities of long-lived charge carriers necessary for chemical reactions. Here we demonstrate the merits of augmenting traditional photoelectrochemical cells with plasmonic nanoparticles to satisfy these daunting photocatalytic requirements. Electrochemical techniques were employed to elucidate the mechanics of plasmon-mediated electron transfer within Au/TiO₂ heterostructures under visible-light (λ>515 nm) irradiation in solution. Significantly, we discovered that these transferred electrons displayed excited-state lifetimes two orders of magnitude longer than those of electrons photogenerated directly within TiO₂ via UV excitation. These long-lived electrons further enable visible-light-driven H₂ evolution from water, heralding a new photocatalytic paradigm for solar energy conversion.