Multifunctional nanostructures of Au-Bi2O3fractals for CO2reduction and optical sensing

Thanh Tran-Phu, Rahman Daiyan, Zelio Fusco, Zhipeng Ma, Lina Raihana Abd Rahim, Alexander Kiy, Patrick Kluth, Xuyun Guo, Ye Zhu, Hongjun Chen, Rose Amal, Antonio Tricoli

Research output: Journal article publicationJournal articleAcademic researchpeer-review

26 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The development of nanomaterials with multifunctional properties presents a viable business case for potential scale-up of nanomaterial fabrication. Hence, the design and engineering of structures as well as tuning of active sites are crucial in generating multifunctional properties in nanomaterials. In this regard, we demonstrate a three-dimensional (3D) fractal structure of Au-Bi2O3with a fractal dimension (Df) of ≈ 1.80, which is obtained from the small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) measurement and through the box counting algorithm. The fractal structures, fabricatedviaa one-step direct synthesis, gives a homogeneous distribution of catalytically active nanocrystals Au and Bi2O3on a 3D platform with a large active surface area, resulting in a strong enhancement of its localized electric field. Therefore, when applied as a catalyst for electrochemical CO2reduction reactions (CO2RR) and optical gas sensing, the material displays an excellent performance. Specifically, the fractal structure exhibits a high selectivity towards the formation of formate, achieving a very high faradaic efficiency of 97% and high mass-specific formate current density of −54 mA mg−1at −1.1 Vvs.a reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE). Similarly, this structure displayed a plasmonic shift as high as ∼5 nm for 4 vol% acetone sensing with a detection limit of 100 ppm towards different volatile organic compounds (VOCs).

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)11233-11245
Number of pages13
JournalJournal of Materials Chemistry A
Volume8
Issue number22
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 14 Jun 2020

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Chemistry
  • Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment
  • General Materials Science

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