Solar energy production systems are mainly controlled by the converted content of incident photons into chemical/electrical energy. Improving light harvesting efficiency by applying the localized surface plasmon resonance features of metallic nanoparticles is a promising route with lowered cost. The single-shaped plasmonic nanoparticles exhibit narrow bands resonant wavelengths of few tens of nanometers to limit their wide practical applications in solar cells. Possible ways can be followed to increase light absorption from near infrared and ultravisible-visible (UV-Vis) regions, including altering the geometry of the plasmonic nanoparticles, employing metal-alloyed nanoparticles, etc. In this book chapter, gold nanoparticles will be included as suitable plasmonic materials to induce the utilization of sunlight by absorbing short and long-wavelength photons. Different preparation methods for single and doped nanomaterials with other metals and metal oxides will be discussed. Gold-based photoanodes will be characterized by incident photon-to-electron conversion efficiency and current-voltage measurements. Additionally, several solar energy applications in essential fields, such as organic pollutants degradation, water splitting, and photothermal conversion will be illustrated.
Elsevier, Gold Nanoparticles, Nanomaterials and Nanocomposites, 2025, Pages 493-527
