[Abstract]

With the inherently high degree of complexity, nanoheterostructures composed of two or more materials joined in unique architectures may exhibit superior synergetic properties that are difficult or impossible to acquire from their individual constituents. For semiconductor nanoheterostructures, the relative band alignment of the constituents promotes effective charge separation to bring them desirable properties for photoconversion applications. Several representative works from our lab including Au-decorated ZnO nanocrystals, Au-CdS yolk-shell nanocrystals, Au-Cu2O core-shell nanocrystals and Au@Cu7S4-decorated TiO2 nanowires will be introduced to demonstrate the promising potentials of semiconductor nanoheterostructures.