Enhancing Visible Light Photo-oxidation of Water with TiO2 Nanowire Arrays via Cotreatment with H2 and NH3: Synergistic Effects between Ti3+ and N

We report a synergistic effect involving hydrogenation and nitridation cotreatment of TiO2 nanowire (NW) arrays that improves the water photo-oxidation performance under visible light illumination. The visible light (>420 nm) photocurrent of the cotreated TiO2 is 0.16 mA/cm(2) and accounts for 41% of the total photocurrent under simulated AM 1.5 G illumination. Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy reveals that the concentration of Ti3+ species in the bulk of the TiO2 following hydrogenation and nitridation cotreatment is significantly higher than that of the sample treated solely with ammonia. It is believed that the interaction between the N-dopant and Ti3+ is the key to the extension of the active spectrum and the superior visible light water photo-oxidation activity of the hydrogenation and nitridation cotreated TiO2 NW arrays.