Rice University Copper-Ruthenium Photocatalyst (IMAGE)

Rice University

Rice University Copper-Ruthenium Photocatalyst

Caption

Scientists with Rice's Laboratory for Nanophotonics have shown how a light-driven plasmonic effect allows catalysts of copper and ruthenium to more efficiently break apart ammonia molecules, which each contain one nitrogen and three hydrogen atoms. When the catalyst is exposed to light (right), resonant plasmonic effects produce high-energy "hot carrier" electrons that become localized at ruthenium reaction sites and speed up desorption of nitrogen compared with reactions conducted in the dark with heat (left).

Credit

LANP/Rice University

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