Design of Silver-Based Controlled Nanostructures for Plasmonic Catalysis under Visible Light Irradiation

Recent years have marked substantial research interest in the design and development of photocatalyst materials for the conversion of solar to chemical energy. In this brief account, we present some of the recent research on silver-based plas-monic nanocatalysts supported on silica for their preparative techniques, characterization and efficient catalysis under visible light irradiation conditions. Ag nanoparticles (NPs) which can be prepared with different color and morphology, are explored for possible enhancement effects in catalytic performance activities under visible light irradiation. A number of combinations of Ag with other catalytically active metal NPs is studied for exploring the plasmonic enhancement activities. Ag NPs combined with single site Ti-oxide moiety is studied for the enhanced hydrogen production activity attributing to the Ag plasmonic effect under UV-vis light irradiation. The account is further elaborated by citing some recently reported works, plausible mechanism of enhancements, conclusions and outlook. We expect that the present account will provide insights into the design and investigation of catalytic performances in the visible light driven plasmon-mediated chemical reactions.