Light absorbance, bulk carrier transport, and interfacial charge transfer can improve photoelectrochemical water-splitting performance in a nanoscale framework of heterogeneous plasmonic materials and suitable surface engineering. Notably, the research group led by Professor Jaebeom Lee at the Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry, College of Chemical Engineering, Chungnam National University, has yielded impressive results. Through the collaborative efforts of PhD student Mahendra Goddati, they have successfully integrated a novel photoanode for photoelectrochemical water-splitting into a core-shell nickel-doped magnetoplasmonic nanorods material.  

Two steps produced core-shell magnetoplasmonic nanorods synthesis sequential hydrothermal treatment. A transverse magnetic field-induced assembly was used to adorn magnetoplasmonic nanorods on FTO glass as a rugged forest, permitting increased light absorption and active electrochemical sites. The rough nanorods provided more active sites and oxygen vacancies as the hole transfer medium, enabling this enhancement. The discovery may illuminate plasmonic photocatalytic hybrids and effective photoelectrochemical photoanodes' surface morphology.

To improve metal@semiconductor photoelectrodes that enhance synergistic plasmon–exciton interaction. Controlling metal@semiconductor-based photoelectrodes' electricity and behaviour is crucial. Cation exchange-induced nickel doping may provide the ultimate magnetoplasmonic nanocatalyst, core-shell magnetoplasmonic nanorods, and magnetic field-induced engineered self-assembly can enhance photoelectrochemical performance by modulating light scattering. The photoelectrochemical cells with nickel-doped core-shell magnetoplasmonic nanorods photoanode survived oxygen evolution reaction in photoelectrochemical water-splitting without sacrificial reagents.

This research was supported by National Research Foundation and published in small (impact factor: 15.153, the journal is among the top multidisciplinary journals covering a broad spectrum of topics at these dimensions at the interface of materials science, chemistry, physics, engineering, medicine, and biology). The published title is "Rugged Forest Morphology of Magnetoplasmonic Nanorods that Collect Maximum Light for Photoelectrochemical Water Splitting". 

https://doi.org/10.1002/smll.202302980