Atomic Plane-Selective Deposition of Gold Nanoparticles on Metal Oxide Crystals Exploiting Preferential Adsorption of Additives

摘要

Semiconductor-metal composite materials are used as catalysts and electrodes for a broad range of applications. The semiconductor-metal interactions can depend significantly on their interfacial structures. Therefore, understanding and manipulating the semiconductor/metal interfacial structures are critical to enhance desired properties of the composite materials. In particular, the ability to selectively place metal particles/catalysts on certain crystallographic planes of semiconductor crystals in polycrystalline electrodes is of special interest in that it can allow us to understand anisotropic (i.e., atomic plane-dependent) interactions between the metal and the semiconductor surfaces without needing a single crystal semiconductor substrate. Based on this understanding, the interface of a semiconductor electrode can be tailored to maximize preferred semiconductor-metal interactions.