Electrophoretic deposition of uniformly distributed TiO2 nanoparticles using an anodic aluminum oxide template for efficient photolysis

In this study, a novel method for fabricating a high efficiency titanium dioxide photocatalyst is presented. Radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering was employed to grow 3D nano-structured Au thin films using the barrier-layer side of anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) as the template. The template was prepared by immersing this side of an AAO film into a 30 wt% phosphoric acid solution to modify the surface of the barrier layer in such a manner that a contrasting surface was obtained. The electrophoretic deposition method was then implemented to uniformly deposit TiO2 nanoparticles on the 3D nano-structured Au electrode. The efficiency of the proposed photocatalyst, in terms of the photolysis efficiency, was measured using proton-motive-force driving chloroplastmimic photovoltaics. Experiments were carried out to demonstrate the photolysis efficiency of the proposed 3D nano-structured TiO2 photocatalyst, which showed a 10-fold increase over that of Degussa P25 plane TiO2. The photocurrent could be further enhanced by the deposition of a sensitized dye, such as N3, which extended the absorption spectrum from the UV range to the visible light range.