Electric Field-Driven Catalytic Activity Using a Bioinspired Peptide and Titanium Dioxide Semiconductor Composite with Metal Nanoparticles

Heterogeneous catalytic processes facilitated by the localized surface plasmon resonance excitation in plasmonic nanomaterials possess the potential to increase product yield and selectivity in a range of redox reactions beyond what is possible when using traditional catalysis-based approaches. In this article, we demonstrate electric field (that was generated by applying DC voltage)-driven redox catalysis (with and without UV irradiation) using plasmonic nanoparticles with a peptide nanotube/titanium dioxide hybrid semiconductor nanocomposite. The applied DC voltage reduces the bandgap of the peptide nanotubes, enabling control over the semiconductor–metal charge transfer rate. In the presence of the electric field, product formation from the hybrid semiconductor nanocomposite was c.a. 5 times faster than when using peptide nanotubes or titanium dioxide alone. The product formation was further enhanced in combination with UV irradiation with an overall 9-fold enhancement.