Correction: Recent progress in SERS monitoring of photocatalytic reactions.

Correction for 'Recent progress in SERS monitoring of photocatalytic reactions' by Xinlu Zheng et al., Chem. Soc. Rev., 2024, 53, 656-683, https://doi.org/10.1039/D3CS00462G.

Recent progress in SERS monitoring of photocatalytic reactions.

Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) is a powerful analytical technique renowned for its ultra-high sensitivity. Extensive research in SERS has led to the development of a wide range of SERS substrates, including plasmonic metals, semiconductors, metal organic frameworks, and their assemblies. Some of these materials are also excellent photocatalysts, and by taking advantage of their bifunctional characteristics, the photocatalytic processes that occur on their surface can be monitored in situ via SERS. This provides us with unique opportunities to gain valuable insights into the intricate details of the photocatalytic processes that are challenging to access using other techniques. In this review, we highlight key development in in situ and/or real-time SERS-tracking of photocatalytic reactions. We begin by providing a brief account of recent developments in SERS substrates, followed by discussions on how SERS can be used to elucidate crucial aspects of photocatalytic processes, including: (1) the influence of the surrounding media on charge carrier extraction; (2) the direction of charge carrier transfer; (3) the pathway of photocatalytic activation; and (4) differentiation between the effects of photo-thermal and energetic electrons. Additionally, we discuss the benefits of tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (TERS) due to the ability to achieve high-spatial-resolution measurements. Finally, we address major challenges and propose potential directions for the future of SERS monitoring of photocatalytic reactions. By leveraging the capabilities of SERS, we can uncover new insights into photocatalytic processes, paving the way for advancements in sustainable energy and environmental remediation.

High spin Fe3+-related bonding strength and electron transfer for sensitive and stable SERS detection.

The intrinsic electronic states of transition metal-containing SERS substrates, especially the effect of spin state on the detection sensitivity, still remain unknown. Herein, we propose a simple co-precipitation approach to form trimetallic MIL-101(FeNiTi) with high-spin (HS) Fe3+ as a result of geometric distortion of the octahedral symmetry. Using methylene blue as a demonstration, the trimetallic MIL-101(FeNiTi) shows a high enhancement factor (EF) of 6.1 × 106, a low detection limit of 10-9 M and excellent detection stability after long-term preservation. X-ray absorption fine structure and photoelectron spectra demonstrate that coupling between high-spin Fe3+ and aliovalent transition metals Ni2+ and Ti4+ with different filling degree of 3d eg-orbitals results in electron delocalization. The DFT calculation suggests that MIL-101(FeNiTi) with high-spin Fe3+ favors molecular adsorption and the charge transfer from the molecule to MIL-101(FeNiTi) is promoted, benefitting from the enhanced electron delocalization, which both contribute to the distinguished SERS performance of MIL-101(FeNiTi). This finding provides in-depth mechanistic understanding of the effect of the spin state of transition metals on mediating SERS activity, which is expected to efficiently promote the development of SERS platforms based on non-noble metals.

Unidirectional/Bidirectional Electron Transfer at the Au/TiO2 Interface Operando Tracked by SERS Spectra from Au and TiO2.

Although it is well-known that the size can influence the surface plasmon resonance property of coinage metals and the electronic state of the Mott-Schottky junction formed at the metal/semiconductor interface, insights into how the size can be exploited to optimize the photocatalytic activity and selectivity of metal/semiconductor composites are lacking. Here we utilize operando SERS spectroscopy to identify the size effect on the electron-transfer dynamics and the direction at the Au/TiO2 interface. This effect was characterized by the photocatalytic reduction sites of p-nitrothiophenol, which were self-tracked with the SERS spectra from Au nanoparticle and inverse-opal structured TiO2, respectively. The size-dependent unidirectional/bidirectional transfer of photoinduced electrons at the Au/TiO2 interface was revealed by operando SERS spectroscopy, which enables the rational tuning of the reduction selectivity.