Figure 5. Reaction mechanism on a rhodium nanocube.
The thermocatalytic reaction activates both CO–Rh bonds and CH–O bonds to produce CO and CH4, respectively. Hot electrons generated in the photocatalytic reaction selectively activate the C–O bonds of the CHO intermediate and reduce the apparent activation energy to enhance the CH4 production rate. The black, red, and blue spheres are carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen atoms, respectively. The red corners of the cube show the intense electric field from the excitation of LSPRs38.