Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-mkpzs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-17T11:55:30.525Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Silver-decorated titanium dioxide nanotube arrays with improved photocatalytic activity for visible light irradiation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 June 2014

Kansong Chen*
Affiliation:
Faculty of Computer Science and Information Engineering, Hubei University, Wuhan 430062, People's Republic of China; and Hubei Collaborative Innovation Center for Advanced Organic Chemical Materials, Wuhan 430062, People's Republic of China
Xinran Feng
Affiliation:
Faculty of Computer Science and Information Engineering, Hubei University, Wuhan 430062, People's Republic of China; and Hubei Collaborative Innovation Center for Advanced Organic Chemical Materials, Wuhan 430062, People's Republic of China
Han Tian
Affiliation:
Faculty of Computer Science and Information Engineering, Hubei University, Wuhan 430062, People's Republic of China; and Hubei Collaborative Innovation Center for Advanced Organic Chemical Materials, Wuhan 430062, People's Republic of China
Yang Li
Affiliation:
Faculty of Computer Science and Information Engineering, Hubei University, Wuhan 430062, People's Republic of China; and Hubei Collaborative Innovation Center for Advanced Organic Chemical Materials, Wuhan 430062, People's Republic of China
Kun Xie
Affiliation:
Faculty of Computer Science and Information Engineering, Hubei University, Wuhan 430062, People's Republic of China; and Hubei Collaborative Innovation Center for Advanced Organic Chemical Materials, Wuhan 430062, People's Republic of China
Rui Hu
Affiliation:
Faculty of Computer Science and Information Engineering, Hubei University, Wuhan 430062, People's Republic of China; and Hubei Collaborative Innovation Center for Advanced Organic Chemical Materials, Wuhan 430062, People's Republic of China
Yaxuan Cai
Affiliation:
Faculty of Computer Science and Information Engineering, Hubei University, Wuhan 430062, People's Republic of China; and Hubei Collaborative Innovation Center for Advanced Organic Chemical Materials, Wuhan 430062, People's Republic of China
Haoshuang Gu*
Affiliation:
Faculty of Computer Science and Information Engineering, Hubei University, Wuhan 430062, People's Republic of China; and Hubei Collaborative Innovation Center for Advanced Organic Chemical Materials, Wuhan 430062, People's Republic of China
*
a) Address all correspondence to these authors. e-mail: [email protected]
b) e-mail: [email protected]
Get access

Abstract

Silver-decorated titanium dioxide (Ag/TiO2) nanotube (NT) arrays were successfully prepared using a two-step synthesis route comprised of an anodic oxidation procedure followed by photochemical reduction using ultraviolet irradiation. The resulting Ag/TiO2 NT arrays were characterized using scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, x-ray diffraction, and UV-vis diffusion reflectance spectrometry. The characterization results indicated that the silver decoration significantly enhanced the light absorption capability of the TiO2 NT arrays in the visible spectral range. The visible light photocatalytic activity of the subject NT arrays was investigated. The experimental results showed the photocatalytic activity of silver-decorated titanium dioxide Ag/TiO2 NT arrays to be dependent on the size of the silver particles. The improved visible light absorption can be attributed to plasmonic effects induced by particle size phenomenon. The Ag/TiO2 NT arrays exhibit promising application for photocatalytic degradation of dye solutions and pollutants in water using visible irradiation.

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2014 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Gong, D., Grimes, C.A., and Varghese, O.K.: Titanium oxide nanotube arrays prepared by anodic oxidation. J. Mater. Res. 16, 3331 (2001).Google Scholar
Mor, G.K., Shankar, K., Paulose, M., Varghese, O.K., and Grimes, C.A.: Use of highly ordered TiO2 nanotube arrays in dye-sensitized solar cells. Nano Lett. 6, 215 (2006).Google Scholar
Liang, S., He, J., Sun, Z., Liu, Q., Jiang, Y., and Cheng, H.: Improving photoelectrochemical water splitting activity of TiO2 nanotube arrays by tuning geometrical parameters. J. Phys. Chem. C 116, 9049 (2012).Google Scholar
Liu, H., He, Y., and Liang, X.: Magnetic photocatalysts containing TiO2 nanocrystals: Morphology effect on photocatalytic activity. J. Mater. Res. 29, 98 (2014).Google Scholar
Shaislamov, U. and Yang, B.L.: CdS-sensitized single-crystalline TiO2 nanorods and polycrystalline nanotubes for solar hydrogen generation. J. Mater. Res. 28, 418 (2013).Google Scholar
Dutta, S., Patra, A.K., De, S., Bhaumik, A., and Saha, B.: Self-assembled TiO2 nanospheres by using biopolymer as a template and its optoelectronic application. ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 4, 1560 (2012).Google Scholar
Asahi, R., Morikawa, T., Ohwaki, T., Aoki, K., and Taga, Y.: Visible-light photocatalysis in nitrogen-doped titanium oxides. Science 293, 269 (2001).Google Scholar
Antony, R.P., Mathews, T., Panda, K., Sundaravel, B., Dash, S., and Tyagi, A.K.: Enhanced field emission properties of electrochemically synthesized self-aligned nitrogen-doped TiO2 nanotube array thin films. J. Phys. Chem. C 116, 16740 (2012).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ye, M., Gong, J., Lai, Y., Lin, C., and Lin, Z.: High-efficiency photoelectrocatalytic hydrogen generation enabled by palladium quantum dots-sensitized TiO2 nanotube arrays. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 134, 15720 (2012).Google Scholar
Guo, W., Xue, X., Wang, S., Lin, C., and Wang, Z.L.: An integrated power pack of dye-sensitized solar cell and Li battery based on double-sided TiO2 nanotube arrays. Nano Lett. 12, 2520 (2012).Google Scholar
Hou, Y., Li, X., Zhao, Q., Chen, G., and Raston, C.L.: Role of hydroxyl radicals and mechanism of Escherichia coli inactivation on Ag/AgBr/TiO2 nanotube arrays electrode under visible light irradiation. Environ. Sci. Technol. 46, 4042 (2012).Google Scholar
Liu, Z., Hou, W., Pavaskar, P., Aykol, M., and Cronin, S.B.: Plasmon resonant enhancement of photocatalytic water splitting under visible illumination. Nano Lett. 11, 1111 (2011).Google Scholar
Gao, M., Xu, Y., and Bai, Y.: Synthesis and characterization of Nb, F-codoped titania nanoparticles for dye-sensitized solar cells. J. Mater. Res. 29, 230 (2014).Google Scholar
Xie, K., Sun, L., Wang, C., Lai, Y., Wang, M., Chen, H., and Lin, C.: Photoelectrocatalytic properties of Ag nanoparticles loaded TiO2 nanotube arrays prepared by pulse current deposition. Electrochim. Acta 55, 7211 (2010).Google Scholar
Xu, Z., Yu, J., and Liu, G.: Enhancement of ethanol electrooxidation on plasmonic Au/TiO2 nanotube arrays. Electrochem. Commun. 13, 1260 (2011).Google Scholar
Xie, K., Wu, Q., Wang, Y., Guo, W., Wang, M., and Sun, L.: Electrochemical construction of Z-scheme type CdS-Ag-TiO2 nanotube arrays with enhanced photocatalytic activity. Electrochem. Commun. 13, 1469 (2011).Google Scholar
Atwater, H.A. and Polman, A.: Plasmonics for improved photovoltaic devices. Nat. Mater. 9, 205 (2010).Google Scholar
Mayer, K.M. and Hafner, J.H.: Localized surface plasmon resonance sensors. Chem. Rev. 111, 3828 (2011).Google Scholar
Tian, Y. and Tatsuma, T.: Mechanisms and applications of plasmon-induced charge separation at TiO2 films loaded with gold nanoparticles. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 127, 7632 (2005).Google Scholar
Paramasivam, I., Macak, J.M., Ghicov, A., and Schmuki, P.: Enhanced photochromism of Ag loaded self-organized TiO2 nanotube layers. Chem. Phys. Lett. 445, 233 (2007).Google Scholar
Mubeen, S., Hernandez, S.G., Moses, D., Lee, J., and Moskovits, M.: Plasmonic photosensitization of a wide band gap semiconductor: Converting plasmons to charge carriers. Nano Lett. 11, 5548 (2011).Google Scholar
Rycenga, M., Cobley, C.M., Zeng, J., Li, W., Moran, C.H., and Zhang, Q.: Controlling the synthesis and assembly of silver nanostructures for plasmonic applications. Chem. Rev. 111, 3669 (2011).Google Scholar
Zhang, S., Peng, F., Wang, H., Yu, H., Zhang, S., and Yang, J.: Electrodeposition preparation of Ag loaded N-doped TiO2 nanotube arrays with enhanced visible light photocatalytic performance. Catal. Commun. 12, 689 (2011).Google Scholar
Liu, R., Yang, W., Qiang, L., and Wu, J.: Fabrication of TiO2 nanotube arrays by electrochemical anodization in an NH4F/H3PO4 electrolyte. Thin Solid Films 519, 6459 (2011).Google Scholar
Sun, L., Li, J., Wang, C., Li, S., Lai, Y., and Chen, H.: Ultrasound aided photochemical synthesis of Ag loaded TiO2 nanotube arrays to enhance photocatalytic activity. J. Hazard. Mater. 171, 1045 (2009).Google Scholar
Gao, Y., Fang, P., Chen, F., Liu, Y., Liu, Z., and Wang, D.: Enhancement of stability of N-doped TiO2 photocatalysts with Ag loading. Appl. Surf. Sci. 265, 796 (2013).Google Scholar
Jain, P.K., Lee, K.S., El-Sayed, L.H., and El-Sayed, M.A.: Calculated absorption and scattering properties of gold nanoparticles of different size, shape, and composition: Applications in biological imaging and biomedicine. J. Phys. Chem. B 110, 7238 (2006).Google Scholar
Matthews, R.W.: Photooxidation of organic impurities in water using thin films of titanium dioxide. J. Phys. Chem. 91, 3328 (1987).Google Scholar
Lee, M.K., Kim, T.G., Kim, W., and Sung, Y.M.: Surface plasmon resonance electron and energy transfer in noble metal-zinc oxide composite nanocrystals. J. Phys. Chem. 112, 10079 (2008).Google Scholar
Linic, S., Christopher, P., and Ingram, D.B.: Plasmonic-metal nanostructures for efficient conversion of solar to chemical energy. Nat. Mater. 10, 911 (2011).Google Scholar
Wu, L., Yu, J.C., and Fu, X.: Characterization and photocatalytic mechanism of nanosized CdS coupled TiO2 nanocrystals under visible light irradiation. J. Mol. Catal. A: Chem. 244, 25 (2006).Google Scholar