Experimental plasmon-induced photocatalytic enhancement of ZnO-Ga2O3 composite thin films and first-principle DFT calculations
Abduvalov A. Tezekbay Y. Shomenov T. Duisebayev T. Zhazitov M. Kydyrbay N. Abdullah M. Kaikanov M. Nuraje N. Toktarbaiuly O.
15 May 2026Elsevier B.V.
Applied Surface Science
2026#728
Plasmonic gold (Au) metal nanoparticles (NPs) provide an effective strategy to boost the solar energy conversion efficiency of semiconductor materials. In this work, we demonstrate for the first time that integrating a ZnO-Ga2O3 (GZO) composite thin films with a plasmonic Au NPs markedly enhances photoelectrochemical catalytic performance, resulting nearly a twofold increase in photocurrent at 1.23 RHE under simulated sunlight. The improvement arises from plasmon-induced resonant energy transfer and scattering, which enhances activity at photon energies below the GZO band edge. Acting as nanoscale optical absorber, the nanoparticles increase light absorption. Moreover, the strong local plasmonic field and light scattering mechanisms effectively prevents charge recombination in the GZO photoanodes. Additionally, partial density of states from each composing element of such configuration was studied by ground-state theoretical DFT calculations giving information about energy state changes at atomic level. Theoretical results indirectly support and confirm experimental estimated band gap widening of the composite and the surface charge redistribution on GZO on adding Au atoms. These findings give new information on poorly studied GZO composite thin films and their combinations with nanoscale plasmonic metals.
DFT , Photocatalytic , Plasmonic gold , ZnO-Ga2O3composite
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Department of Physics, School of Sciences and Humanities, Nazarbayev University, Astana, 010000, Kazakhstan
School of Intelligent Systems, Astana IT University, Astana, 010000, Kazakhstan
Renewable Energy Laboratory, National Laboratory Astana (NLA), Astana, 010000, Kazakhstan
Center for Energy and Advanced Materials Science, National Laboratory Astana, Nazarbayev University, 53 Kabanbay Batyr Avenue, Astana, 010000, Kazakhstan
Department of Chemical Engineering, School of Engineering and Digital Sciences, Nazarbayev University, Astana, 010000, Kazakhstan
Department of Physics
School of Intelligent Systems
Renewable Energy Laboratory
Center for Energy and Advanced Materials Science
Department of Chemical Engineering
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Книга Публикация научной статьи Волощук 2026 Book Publication of a scientific article 2026