Plasmonic silver quantum dots coupled with hierarchical TiO2 nanotube arrays photoelectrodes for efficient visible-light photoelectrocatalytic hydrogen evolution.

ABSTRACT: A plasmonic Ag/TiO2 photocatalytic composite was designed by selecting Ag quantum dots (Ag QDs) to act as a surface plasmon resonance (SPR) photosensitizer for driving the visible-light driven photoelectrocatalytic hydrogen evolution. Vertically oriented hierarchical TiO2 nanotube arrays (H-TiO2-NTAs) with macroporous structure were prepared through a two-step method based on electrochemical anodization. Subsequently, Ag QDs, with tunable size (1.3-21.0 nm), could be uniformly deposited on the H-TiO2 NTAs by current pulsing approach. The unique structure of the as-obtained photoelectrodes greatly improved the photoelectric conversion efficiency. The as-obtained Ag/H-TiO2-NTAs exhibited strong visible-light absorption capability, high photocurrent density, and enhanced photoelectrocatalytic

SUBMITTER: Lian Z 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4464392 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature