2026-10-13T20:52:02Z https://api.figshare.com/v2/oai

oai:figshare.com:article/34034031 2026-09-30T16:29:35Z category_1 category_4 category_146 category_915 category_7 category_21 category_873 category_39 category_69 portal_63 item_type_6 month_year_09_2026

All-Solid-State Plasmon-Assisted Interfacial Engineered Ag-Seeded ZnO/ZnS Core–Shell Nanorods for Z‑Scheme Photocatalysis Elius Hossain (19533513) Kye-Si Kwon (10536144) Biophysics Biochemistry Space Science Physical Sciences not elsewhere classified Medicine Biotechnology Chemical Sciences not elsewhere classified Ecology Inorganic Chemistry trapping experiments indicate traditional heterojunctions struggle sup >•</ sup rapid charge recombination public health concerns promotes selective recombination limited redox capability facilitating electron injection enabling efficient degradation dominant reactive species ag seed layer 5 h sulfidation zno nrs core seeded zno work provides water resources uv irradiation scheme photocatalysts scheme efficiency persistent contamination organic dyes methylene blue environmental remediation engineered z energy carriers developing high conventional photocatalysts conventional photocatalyst assisted interface The persistent contamination of water resources by organic dyes and inorganic pollutants presents serious environmental and public health concerns. However, conventional photocatalysts are hindered by rapid charge recombination, limited redox capability, and inefficient interfacial charge transfer, while traditional heterojunctions struggle to simultaneously deliver strong oxidation and reduction potentials. Herein, a nature-inspired all-solid-state, plasmon-assisted interface-engineered Z-scheme photocatalyst comprising ZnO/ZnS core–shell nanorods (NRs) on an Ag seed layer is reported to address the limitations of conventional photocatalyst. The metallic Ag seed layer acts as a localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) platform, facilitating electron injection into the ZnO NRs core and suppressing photogenerated charge recombination. A controlled ZnS shell thickness (∼20 nm, obtained by 1.5 h sulfidation) optimizes interfacial charge transfer, promotes selective recombination of low-energy carriers, and maximizes solid-state Z-scheme efficiency. Trapping experiments indicate that ^•O₂^– and ^•OH are the dominant reactive species, enabling efficient degradation of methylene blue and tetracycline and reduction of Cr (VI) under UV irradiation. This work provides a rational interfacial engineering strategy for developing high-performance all-solid-state Z-scheme photocatalysts for environmental remediation. 2026-09-30T00:00:00Z Text Journal contribution 10.1021/acsomega.6c08853.s001 https://figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/All-Solid-State_Plasmon-Assisted_Interfacial_Engineered_Ag-Seeded_ZnO_ZnS_Core_Shell_Nanorods_for_Z_Scheme_Photocatalysis/34034031 CC BY-NC 4.0