Schottky junction effect enhanced plasmonic photocatalysis by TaON@Ni NP heterostructures.

We chemically deposited amorphous Ni(OH)2 layers over TaON particles with irregular surface morphology, and subsequently in situ reduced them to Ni (10-20 nm) nanoparticles, to construct a TaON@Ni photocatalyst. Such a hierarchical hybrid aims to combine the enhanced light absorption by the metal Ni plasmonic effect with accelerated charge separation by a Schottky barrier, and herein, achieves a higher photocatalytic activity in CO2 reduction than TaON.