Ab-initio investigation of hot electron transfer in CO$_2$ plasmonic photocatalysis in presence of hydroxyl adsorbate

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Hauptverfasser: Fusco, Zelio, Koenig, Dirk, Smith, Sean C., Beck, Fiona Jean
Format: Preprint
Veröffentlicht: 2024
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author Fusco, Zelio
Koenig, Dirk
Smith, Sean C.
Beck, Fiona Jean
author_facet Fusco, Zelio
Koenig, Dirk
Smith, Sean C.
Beck, Fiona Jean
contents Photoreduction of carbon dioxide (CO$_2$) on plasmonic structures is of great interest in photocatalysis to aid selectivity. While species commonly found in reaction environments and associated intermediates can steer the reaction down different pathways by altering the potential energy landscape of the system, they are often not addressed when designing efficient plasmonic catalysts. Here, we perform an atomistic study of the effect of the hydroxyl group (OH) on CO$_2$ activation and hot electron generation and transfer using first-principle calculations. We show that the presence of OH is essential in breaking the linear symmetry of CO$_2$, which leads to a charge redistribution and a decrease in the O=C=O angle to 134°, thereby activating CO$_2$. Analysis of the partial density of states (pDOS) demonstrates that the OH group mediates the orbital hybridization between Au and CO$_2$ resulting in more accessible states, thus facilitating charge transfer. By employing time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT), we quantify the fraction of hot electrons directly generated into hybridized molecular states at resonance, demonstrating a broader energy distribution and a 11% increase in charge-transfer in the presence of OH groups. We further show that the spectral overlap between excitation energy and plasmon resonance plays a critical role in efficiently modulating electron transfer processes. These findings contribute to the mechanistic understanding of plasmon-mediated reactions and demonstrate the importance of co-adsorbed species in tailoring the electron transfer processes, opening new avenues for enhancing selectivity.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2402_11726
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Ab-initio investigation of hot electron transfer in CO$_2$ plasmonic photocatalysis in presence of hydroxyl adsorbate
Fusco, Zelio
Koenig, Dirk
Smith, Sean C.
Beck, Fiona Jean
Computational Physics
Photoreduction of carbon dioxide (CO$_2$) on plasmonic structures is of great interest in photocatalysis to aid selectivity. While species commonly found in reaction environments and associated intermediates can steer the reaction down different pathways by altering the potential energy landscape of the system, they are often not addressed when designing efficient plasmonic catalysts. Here, we perform an atomistic study of the effect of the hydroxyl group (OH) on CO$_2$ activation and hot electron generation and transfer using first-principle calculations. We show that the presence of OH is essential in breaking the linear symmetry of CO$_2$, which leads to a charge redistribution and a decrease in the O=C=O angle to 134°, thereby activating CO$_2$. Analysis of the partial density of states (pDOS) demonstrates that the OH group mediates the orbital hybridization between Au and CO$_2$ resulting in more accessible states, thus facilitating charge transfer. By employing time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT), we quantify the fraction of hot electrons directly generated into hybridized molecular states at resonance, demonstrating a broader energy distribution and a 11% increase in charge-transfer in the presence of OH groups. We further show that the spectral overlap between excitation energy and plasmon resonance plays a critical role in efficiently modulating electron transfer processes. These findings contribute to the mechanistic understanding of plasmon-mediated reactions and demonstrate the importance of co-adsorbed species in tailoring the electron transfer processes, opening new avenues for enhancing selectivity.
title Ab-initio investigation of hot electron transfer in CO$_2$ plasmonic photocatalysis in presence of hydroxyl adsorbate
topic Computational Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2402.11726