Surface plasmon resonance-enhanced visible-light-driven photocatalysis by Ag nanoparticles decorated S-TiO2-x nanorods

A novel plasmonic Ag decorated S-TiO2-x nanorods are successfully fabricated under 700 degrees C calcination, then followed by an in-situ solid-state chemical reduction approach with NaBH4 in a mild calcination (350 degrees C) and combined with photo-deposition approach. The resultant Ag/S-TiO2-x sample with high crystallinity and narrow band gap of similar to 2.39 eV, extends the photoresponse to near-infrared region. The visible-light-driven photocatalytic degradation rate of phenol and hydrogen production rate for Ag/S-TiO2-x nanorods are as high as 98.67% and 209.2 mu mol h(-1) g(-1), which is about 2 and 5 times higher than that of S-TiO2. Especially, first-order reaction rate constant of Ag/S-TiO2-x nanorods is 14 times higher than that of S-TiO2. The excellent photocatalytic property can be attributed to the synergistic effect of Ti3+ self-doping, S doping and the enhanced surface plasmon resonance of Ag nanoparticles, which narrows the band gap, favors the visible light utilization, and promotes the separation of photogenerated charge carriers. (C) 2017 Taiwan Institute of Chemical Engineers. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.