Metallic nanoparticles have been demonstrated to be versatile photocatalysts, as exemplified by those made from noble and precious metals. Transitioning from precious to earth-abundant metals for sustainable photocatalysis requires benchmarking their catalytic performance. In this work, we attempt to compare the photocatalytic activities of Au, Pd, and Co-B nanoparticles in the reduction of nitrobenzene by hydrazine. Despite their different morphologies and surface structures, Co-B nanoparticles offer the highest catalytic enhancement when comparing their reaction rates under irradiation to those under nonirradiation conditions. The trend of improved photocatalytic performance when transitioning from Au to Pd, and then to Co-B, can be explained by the nature of their d-band positions and corresponding hot carriers photogenerated from interband transitions.

The standard redox potentials of metal nanoparticles are important for understanding their chemical properties. Traditionally, these redox potentials are measured by using voltammetry. Although voltammetry is fast and cost-effective, loading or landing the nanoparticles on electrodes alters their electrochemical properties, posing a challenge for accurately determining their intrinsic redox potentials. Here, a contactless method was developed utilizing chemical assays and the Nernst equation to measure the standard reduction potentials of gold nanoparticles in their colloidal state. To showcase the versatility and accuracy of this Nernstian approach, the reduction potentials were measured for a size range of 5.0-73 nm, revealing their scaling law and dependence on the nanoparticle surface energy.