A new magneto-optical phenomenon enhanced by Au nanoparticles on 3D Ni sub-microstructures.

We constructed a bio-structured surface-plasmonic/magneto-optic composite of ferromagnet metal Ni and noble metal Au. It was found that Ni (Mm) butterfly wings (BWs) with a natural photonic crystal structure have an apparent enhancement of light reflection under a 0.3 T magnetic field.

Biotemplated g-CN/Au Periodic Hierarchical Structures for the Enhancement of Photocatalytic CO Reduction with Localized Surface Plasmon Resonance.

Graphitic carbon nitride (g-CN) is a promising photocatalyst for CO reduction to alleviate the greenhouse effect. However, the low light absorption, small specific surface area, and rapid charge recombination limit the photocatalytic efficiency of g-CN. Herein, we demonstrate a bioinspired nanoarchitecturing strategy to significantly improve the light harvesting and charge separation of the g-CN/Au composite, as proven by the remarkable photocatalytic CO reduction.

Conjugated Acetylenic Polymers Grafted Cuprous Oxide as an Efficient Z-Scheme Heterojunction for Photoelectrochemical Water Reduction.

As attractive materials for photoeletrochemical hydrogen evolution reaction (PEC HER), conjugated polymers (e.g., conjugated acetylenic polymers [CAPs]) still show poor PEC HER performance due to the associated serious recombination of photogenerated electrons and holes.

A Scalable Nickel-Cellulose Hybrid Metamaterial with Broadband Light Absorption for Efficient Solar Distillation.

Sophisticated metastructures are usually required to broaden the inherently narrowband plasmonic absorption of light for applications such as solar desalination, photodetection, and thermoelectrics. Here, nonresonant nickel nanoparticles (diameters < 20 nm) are embedded into cellulose microfibers via a nanoconfinement effect, producing an intrinsically broadband metamaterial with 97.1% solar-weighted absorption.