Strong Visible Light Absorption and Abundant Hotspots in Au-Decorated WO Nanobricks for Efficient SERS and Photocatalysis.

Metal/semiconductor hybrids show potential application in fields of surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) and photocatalysis due to their excellent light absorption, electric field, and charge-transfer properties. Herein, a WO-Au metal/semiconductor hybrid, which was a WO nanobrick decorated with Au nanoparticles, was prepared via a facile hydrothermal method. The WO-Au hybrids show excellent visible light absorption, strong plasmon coupling, high-performance SERS, and good photocatalytic activity.