Peerakiatkhajohn Piangjai, Yun Jung-Ho, Butburee Teera, Nisspa Waraporn, Thaweesak Supphasin
Faculty of Environment and Resource Studies, Mahidol University Nakhon Pathom 73170 Thailand
Nanomaterials Centre, School of Chemical Engineering and Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (AIBN), The University of Queensland St Lucia QLD 4123 Australia
RSC Adv. 2022 Jan 20;12(5):2652-2661. doi: 10.1039/d1ra09070d. eCollection 2022 Jan 18.
A silver/titanium dioxide nanoplate (Ag/TiO NP) photoelectrode was designed and fabricated from vertically aligned TiO nanoplates (NP) decorated with silver nanoparticles (NPs) through a simple hydrothermal synthesis and electrodeposition route. The electrodeposition times of Ag NPs on the TiO NP were crucial for surface plasmon-driven photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting performance. The Ag/TiO NP at the optimal deposition time of 5 min with a Ag element content of 0.53 wt% demonstrated a remarkably high photocurrent density of 0.35 mA cm at 1.23 V RHE under AM 1.5G illumination, which was 5 fold higher than that of the pristine TiO NP. It was clear that the enhanced light absorption properties and PEC performance for Ag/TiO NP could be effectively adjusted by simply controlling the loading amounts of metallic Ag NPs (average size of 10-30 nm) at different electrodeposition times. The superior PEC performance of the Ag/TiO NP photoanode was attributed to the synergistic effects of the plasmonic Ag NPs and the TiO nanoplate. Interestingly, the plasmonic effect of Ag NPs not only increased the visible-light response ( = 570 nm) of TiO but also provided hot electrons to promote photocurrent generation and suppress charge recombination. Importantly, this study offers a potentially efficient strategy for the design and fabrication of a new type of TiO hybrid nanostructure with a plasmonic enhancement for PEC water splitting.
通过简单的水热合成和电沉积路线，由垂直排列的二氧化钛纳米板（NP）装饰银纳米颗粒（NPs）设计并制备了银/二氧化钛纳米板（Ag/TiO NP）光电极。银纳米颗粒在二氧化钛纳米板上的电沉积时间对于表面等离子体激元驱动的光电化学（PEC）水分解性能至关重要。在最佳沉积时间为5分钟、银元素含量为0.53 wt%时的Ag/TiO NP在AM 1.5G光照下于1.23 V RHE时表现出0.35 mA cm的显著高光电流密度，这比原始二氧化钛纳米板高出5倍。显然，通过简单控制不同电沉积时间下金属银纳米颗粒（平均尺寸为10 - 30 nm）的负载量，可以有效调节Ag/TiO NP的增强光吸收性能和PEC性能。Ag/TiO NP光阳极优异的PEC性能归因于等离子体银纳米颗粒和二氧化钛纳米板的协同效应。有趣的是，银纳米颗粒的等离子体效应不仅增加了二氧化钛的可见光响应（λ = 570 nm），还提供热电子以促进光电流产生并抑制电荷复合。重要的是，本研究为设计和制造具有等离子体增强PEC水分解性能的新型二氧化钛混合纳米结构提供了一种潜在有效的策略。
