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Vol. 11 (2019)

Electrochemical Fabrication of rGO-embedded Ag-TiO2 Nanoring/Nanotube Arrays for Plasmonic Solar Water Splitting

https://doi.org/10.1007/s40820-019-0329-2
Lixia Sang
Key Laboratory of Enhanced Heat Transfer and Energy Conservation, Ministry of Education and Key Laboratory of Heat Transfer and Energy Conversion, Beijing Municipality, College of Environmental and Energy Engineering, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, People’s Republic of China
Lei Lei
Key Laboratory of Enhanced Heat Transfer and Energy Conservation, Ministry of Education and Key Laboratory of Heat Transfer and Energy Conversion, Beijing Municipality, College of Environmental and Energy Engineering, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, People’s Republic of China
Clemens Burda
Department of Chemistry, Center for Chemical Dynamics and Nanomaterials Research, Case Western Reserve University, 10900 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA

Corresponding Author: Lixia Sang

sanglixia@bjut.edu.cn

Nano-Micro Letters, Vol. 11 (2019), Article Number: 97

Abstract

Effective utilization of hot electrons generated from the decay of surface plasmon resonance in metal nanoparticles is conductive to improve solar water splitting efficiency. Herein, Ag nanoparticles and reduced graphene oxide (rGO) co-decorated hierarchical TiO2 nanoring/nanotube arrays (TiO2 R/T) were facilely fabricated by using two-step electrochemical anodization, electrodeposition, and photoreduction methods. Comparative studies were conducted to elucidate the effects of rGO and Ag on the morphology, photoresponse, charge transfer, and photoelectric properties of TiO2. Firstly, scanning electron microscope images confirm that the Ag nanoparticles adhered on TiO2 R/T and TiO2 R/T-rGO have similar diameter of 20 nm except for TiO2 R-rGO/T. Then, the UV–Vis DRS and scatter spectra reveal that the optical property of the Ag-TiO2 R/T-rGO ternary composite is enhanced, ascribing to the visible light absorption of plasmonic Ag nanoparticles and the weakening effect of rGO on light scattering. Meanwhile, intensity-modulated photocurrent spectroscopy and photoluminescence spectra demonstrate that rGO can promote the hot electrons transfer from Ag nanoparticles to Ti substrate, reducing the photogenerated electron–hole recombination. Finally, Ag-TiO2 R/T-rGO photoanode exhibits high photocurrent density (0.98 mA cm−2) and photovoltage (0.90 V), and the stable H2 evolution rate of 413 μL h−1 cm−2 within 1.5 h under AM 1.5 which exceeds by 1.30 times than that of pristine TiO2 R/T. In line with the above results, this work provides a reliable route synergizing rGO with plasmonic metal nanoparticles for photocatalysis, in which, rGO presents a broad absorption spectrum and effective photogenerated electrons transfer.


Highlights:


1 Reduced graphene oxide (rGO) in electrode can weaken the light scattering of plasmonic Ag nanoparticles and promote the hot electrons transfer from Ag nanoparticles to Ti substrate.
2 A route synergizing rGO with plasmonic Ag on TiO2 for plasmonic solar water splitting was provided.

Keywords

TiO2 nanoring/nanotube hierarchical structure Reduced graphene oxide Spectral responses Plasmonic Ag nanoparticles Water splitting
Sang, Lixia, Lei Lei, and Clemens Burda. 2019. “Electrochemical Fabrication of RGO-Embedded Ag-TiO2 Nanoring/Nanotube Arrays for Plasmonic Solar Water Splitting”. Nano-Micro Letters 11 (November):97. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40820-019-0329-2.
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