Nanowerk January 17, 2023
Solvated electrons are powerful reducing agents capable of driving some of the most energetically expensive reduction reactions. It has been proposed that solvated electrons, which are powerful reducing agents, could be produced by photoexcitation of roughened metal electrodes, but no study has demonstrated a clear mechanism for their generation. A team of researchers in the US (Rice University, Stanford University, UT Austin) has shown that plasmons create solvated electrons in water. They showed that the yield of solvated electrons in water was increased more than 10 times for nanoparticle-decorated electrodes compared to smooth silver electrodes. Based on the simulations they determined that hot electrons generated by plasmons are injected into water to form solvated electrons. According to the researchers their work opens a promising strategy for exploiting solvated electrons in chemical reactions…read more. Open Access TECHNICAL ARTICLEÂ
Detection of solvated electrons generated at metal electrodes… Credit: PNAS, January 10, 2023,120 (3) e2217035120Â