Photoelectron charging phenomenon

Based on their experimental results concerning ethanol and methanol photooxidation by Au/Ti02 composites under visible-light illumination, Tatsuma et al. (Tian and Tatsuma 2005) proposed a plasmon-induced charge separation scheme. They observed a surprising phenomenon, in which the photoelectrons were excited from Au nanoparticles and transferred to the CB of Ti02 (Wood et al. 2001 Subramanian et al. 2004). Meanwhile, the oxidized Au species accepted electrons from the donor molecules present in the solution to recover the charge balance. The process is illustrated in Fig. 16.23. 

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