Plasmon-enhanced nitrogen-doped Nb2O3 nanoplates for efficient solar hydrogen generation

Efficient solar-to-hydrogen conversion remains challenging due to the limited visible-light activity and rapid charge recombination in conventional photocatalysts. Here, we report a plasmon-enhanced nitrogen-doped niobium pentoxide (N–Nb₂O₅) photocatalyst decorated with gold nanoparticles (Au@N–Nb₂O₅) for high-performance solar-driven photocatalytic hydrogen generation. N–Nb₂O₅ was synthesized via a simple wet-chemical route and calcined at 500 °C, forming crystalline orthorhombic nanoplates wit