Development of the Plasmon-Driven Synthesis of Copper Nanoparticles

Plasmonic nanoparticles are an attractive material for photocatalysis due to their unique optical and catalytic properties. Light-driven synthesis for silver and gold nanoparticles has emerged as a promising alternative to traditional synthetic approaches due to the environmentally friendly process and precise size and shape control. However, the controlled light-driven synthesis of copper nanoparticles remains a challenge due to constraints such as oxidation, pH, temperature, and stability. Our approach aims to explore the limitations of the copper system through the light-driven growth of copper nanoparticles. Oxidation challenges are combated with inert handling on a Schlenk line while UV-Vis, ICP-MS, and TEM are utilized to monitor the reaction progress. We show that this process is plasmon-driven as reaction rate is dependent on both photon power and wavelength. Future work will focus on exploring the shape control of this plasmon-driven synthesis of copper nanoparticles. Ultimately, we anticipate this plasmon-driven synthesis will enable a greater understanding of the fundamental limits of hot-carriers in photocatalysis.