Photo-induced chemical processes on metal–semiconductor–metal nanostructures

We show benefits of the use of composite, multilayer nanostructures for performing indirect photochemical processes. The key ideas are as follows. A plasmonic metallic core is employed for light capture and local electro-magnetic field enhancement. This field generates electron–hole pairs in the semiconductor shell where the rate of their relaxation is low. Due to the band bending, hot electrons move towards the external thin metallic catalytic shell and induce reaction on its external surface via electron (hole) attachment to adsorbate LUMO (HOMO) orbitals.