Fabrication of plasmonic AgBr/Ag nanoparticles-sensitized TiO2 nanotube arrays and their enhanced photo-conversion and photoelectrocatalytic properties

Plasmonic photosensitizer AgBr/Ag nanospheres supported on TiO2 nanotube arrays (TiO2 NTs) are prepared by successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) technique followed by photoreduction methods. The structural and surface morphological properties of AgBr/Ag nanoparticles sensitized TiO2 NTs and their photoelectrochemical performance are investigated and discussed. A detailed formation mechanism of the TiO2 NTs/AgBr/Ag is proposed. The TiO2 NTs/AgBr/Ag exhibit excellent photocurrent and photoelectrocatalytic activities under visible light irradiation. Efficient utilization of solar energy to create electron hole pairs is attributed to the significant visible light response and surface plasmon resonance of Ag nanoparticles. This finding indicates that the high photosensitivity of the TiO2 NTs-based surface plasmon resonance materials could be applied toward the development of new plasmonic visible-light-sensitive photovoltaic fuel cells and photocatalysts. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.