X-Ray Absorption Spectroscopy (XAS) Studies of Black Gold Supported Rh-Ni-Zn-Cu Catalysts

Plasmonic nanocatalysts are a new paradigm in heterogeneous photocatalysis. In this regard, our recently reported dendritic plasmonic colloidosomes, known
as “black gold” fit well as an ideal “antenna” material, as it absorbs board band light of the solar spectrum and produces intense localized hotspots. Inspired by our
recent work on plasmonic catalysis , in this study, we are addressing the challenge of conducting high-temperature reactions at lower temperatures by merging
the properties of plasmonic black gold with a multimetallic system consisting of Rh, Ni, Zn, and Cu. We like to study how the plasmonic activate metal sites. Why
is multi-metallic performing better than monometallic? We will carry out a multi-edge (Au, Rh, Ni, Zn, and Cu) HERFD-XAS study to understand the modification
of the electronic structure as a function of the sample composition, sample morphology and under in situ conditions in dark (at various temperatures) and in light
(at various intensities).

等离激元纳米催化剂（plasmonic nanocatalysts）是非均相光催化领域的全新研究范式。就此而言，我们此前报道的被称为“黑色黄金”的树枝状等离激元胶体体，是一类理想的“天线”材料：其可吸收太阳光谱的宽波段光线，并产生强烈的局域热点。受我们近期等离激元催化研究的启发，本研究通过将等离激元“黑色黄金”的特性与由铑（Rh）、镍（Ni）、锌（Zn）和铜（Cu）构成的多金属体系相结合，旨在解决在较低温度下开展高温反应的技术难题。我们拟探究等离激元如何活化金属活性位点，并解答：为何多金属体系的催化性能优于单金属体系？本次研究将开展针对金（Au）、铑（Rh）、镍（Ni）、锌（Zn）与铜（Cu）的多吸收边高能量分辨率荧光检测X射线吸收谱（HERFD-XAS）表征，以阐明电子结构随样品组分、样品形貌的变化规律，以及其在原位条件下（包括黑暗环境中的不同温度条件与光照环境中的不同光强条件）的演化特征。