Study of WO3 incorporated C-TiO2 nanotubes for efficient visible light driven water splitting performance

Incorporation of WO3 into C-TiO2 nanotubes was prepared via RF sputtering technique to improve water splitting performance. Optimum WO3 content incorporated into C-TiO2 nanotubes play a crucial role in improving the photocurrent density by suppressing the recombination of charge carriers. The experimental results showed that WO3 incorporated C-TiO2 nanotubes for 30 s sputtering duration exhibited a maximum photocurrent density and good photoresponse than that of C-TiO2 nanotubes under visible light illumination, which is about 2 times improvement in water splitting performance. The presence of optimum contents of WO3 in TiO2 will act as mediators for trapping photo-induced electrons and minimize the recombination losses. (c) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.