Splitting water for hydrogen production using light, or electrical energy, is the most developed ‘green technique’. For increasing efficiency in hydrogen production, currently, the most exciting and thriving strategies are focused on efficient and inexpensive catalysts. Here, we report an innovative idea for efficient hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) utilizing plasmon-activated liquid water with reduced hydrogen-bonded structure by hot electron transfer. This strategy is effective for all HERs in acidic, basic and neutral systems, photocatalytic system with a g-C₃N₄ (graphite carbon nitride) electrode, as well as in an inert system with an ITO (indium tin oxide) electrode. Compared to deionized water, the efficiency of HER increases by 48% based on activated water ex situ on a Pt electrode. Increase in energy efficiency from activated water is 18% at a specific current yield of −20 mA in situ on a nanoscale-granulated Au electrode. Moreover, the onset potential of −0.023 V vs RHE was very close to the thermodynamic potential of the HER (0 V). The measured current density at the corresponding overpotential for HER in an acidic system was higher than any data previously reported in the literature. This approach establishes a new vista in clean green energy production.

Uremic toxins are mainly represented by blood urine nitrogen (BUN) and creatinine (Crea) whose removal is critically important in hemodialysis (HD) for kidney disease. Patients undergoing HD have a complex illness, resulting from: inadequate removal of organic waste, dialysis-induced oxidative stress and membrane-induced inflammation. Here we report innovative breakthroughs for efficient and safe HD by using a plasmon-induced dialysate comprising Au nanoparticles (NPs)-treated (AuNT) water that is distinguishable from conventional deionized (DI) water. The diffusion coefficient of K3Fe(CN)6 in saline solution can be significantly increased from 2.76, to 4.62 [times] 10-6[emsp14]cm s-1, by using AuNT water prepared under illumination by green light-emitting diodes (LED). In vitro HD experiments suggest that the treatment times for the removals of 70% BUN and Crea are reduced by 47 and 59%, respectively, using AuNT water instead of DI water in dialysate, while additionally suppressing NO release from lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced inflammatory cells.

The strength of hydrogen bond (HB) decides water’s property and activity. Here we propose the mechanisms on creation and persistence of innovatively prepared liquid water, which is treated by Au nanoparticles (AuNPs) under resonant illumination of green-light emitting diode (LED) to create Au NP-treated (sAuNT) water, with weak HB at room temperature. Hot electron transfer on resonantly illuminated AuNPs, which is confirmed from Au L_III-edge X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) spectra, is responsible for the creation of negatively charged sAuNT water with the incorporated energy-reduced hot electron. This unique electronic feature makes it stable at least for one week. Compared to deionized (DI) water, the resulting sAuNT water exhibits many distinct properties at room temperature. Examples are its higher activity revealed from its higher vapor pressure and lower specific heat. Furthermore, Mpemba effect can be successfully explained by our purposed hypothesis based on sAuNT water-derived idea of water energy and HB.

Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) utilizing the well-defined localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) of Ag and Au nanoparticles (NPs) under resonant irradiation has emerged as a promising spectroscopy technique for providing vibrational information on trace molecules. The Raman scattering intensity from molecules close to the surface of these finely divided metals can be significantly enhanced by a factor of more than 10⁶. In addition to the high sensitivity, the reproducibility of the SERS signal is also an important parameter for its reliable application. In this work, we report on the innovative and facile fabrication of a Au NP-decorated SiO₂ mask coated on indium tin oxide (ITO) glass as a SERS array substrate. First, a highly ordered porous SiO₂ mask with pore sizes of 350 nm in diameter and wall thickness of 60 nm was deposited on ITO glass by using spin coating. Then, Au NPs were controllably decorated into the pores of the conductive ITO glass-bottomed SiO₂ mask by using sonoelectrochemical deposition–dissolution cycling (SEDDC). Experimental results indicate that the SERS effect of Rhodamine 6G (R6G) observed on this developed substrate increases with an increase in the deposition time of Au NPs in SEDDC. The corresponding optimal enhancement factor (EF) that is obtained is ca. 6.5 × 10⁷. Significantly, this system achieves an optimal reproducibility under a medium-length deposition time of Au NPs in SEDDC with a relative standard deviation (RSD) of 12% for measurements of five spots on different areas. The low RSD of the SERS signal and the large EF suggest that the developed array system can serve as an excellent spectroscopy platform for practical applications in analytical chemistry.

In this communication, we develop a simple pathway to prepare SERS-active substrates with Au nanoparticles (NPs) by an electrochemical strategy of deposition–dissolution cycles (DDCs). The prepared SERS-active substrates demonstrate large Raman scattering enhancement for Rhodamine 6G (R6G) with a detection limit of 2 × 10⁻¹² M and an enhancement factor of 5.8 × 10⁷.