A high-index facet gold 12 tip nanostar for an improved electrocatalytic alcohol oxidation reaction with superior CO tolerance.

Direct alcohol fuel cells have a long and promising future, which will require the development of highly active electrocatalysts for alcohol electrooxidation reactions. To this end, high-index facet nanomaterial-based electrocatalysts provide significant promise for the successful oxidation of alcohols. However, the fabrication and exploration of high-index facet nanomaterials are seldom reported, especially in electrocatalytic applications.

Hotspots in action: near-infrared light mediated photoelectrochemical oxygen evolution on high index faceted plasmonic gold nanoarchitectures.

Photo-induced electrochemical water splitting is a fascinating approach to overcome the present energy demands as well as environmental issues. To this end, near-infrared (NIR) photocatalysts stand out as promising candidates (where 53% of the solar light is NIR light) to solve the present energy crisis but the lack of NIR-activated photocatalysts has remained a great challenge for decades. Herein, for the first time, we report the synthesis of high-index faceted plasmonic Au nano-branched 12 tip nanostars, which can absorb the whole spectral region of electromagnetic radiation (UV-vis-NIR), for efficient water splitting.