Authors: Francesc Sastre, Jonathan van den Ham, Jelle Rohlfs, Nicole Meulendijks, Anthony Sanderse, Natalia Mazur, Man Xu, Martin Eschen, Alberto Gori, Daria Burova, Bjorn Joos, Ken Elen, An Hardy, Marlies K. Van Bael, Pascal Buskens.
This study explores how heat distributes inside illuminated plasmonic catalyst beds during light-driven CO₂ hydrogenation. Using advanced fiber optic sensors (FBG-FOS), researchers monitored temperatures at different depths and found that one-sided illumination creates a strong vertical temperature gradient that significantly affects reaction kinetics. Metal loading and gas composition strongly influenced this gradient, while gas flow rate and reaction heat had little effect. Up to 15% of the incoming light was lost as radiative heat.
These findings highlight the importance of accurate in-operando temperature monitoring to distinguish between thermal and non-thermal effects in plasmon catalysis: an essential step toward efficient and scalable solar fuel production.
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