Plasmonic versus catalytic effect of gold nanoparticles on mesoporous TiO2 electrodes for water splitting
M. Haro, R. Abargues, I. Herraiz-Cardona, J. Martinez-Pastor, S. Gimenez, Sixto Electrochim. Acta 144, pp. 64 – 70
Solar water splitting with metal oxide semiconductors constitutes a promising approach to the conversionof solar energy into chemical energy stored in the atomic bonds of hydrogen molecules. In the presentstudy, we evaluate the effect of the presence of Au nanoparticles on the photoelectrochemical behaviourof mesoporous TiO2to photo-oxidize water. We observe that the presence of Au nanoparticles leads toenhanced photocurrents for water oxidation and we explore the origin of this enhancement by optical andelectrochemical characterization techniques. Our results indicate that although the Au nanoparticles areresponsible for a localized surface plasmonic resonance effect, which significantly improves the opticaldensity of the electrodes, the main contribution of these nanoparticles to the photocurrent has a catalyticorigin as evidenced by the faster charge transfer kinetics.
Solar water splitting with metal oxide semiconductors constitutes a promising approach to the conversionof solar energy into chemical energy stored in the atomic bonds of hydrogen molecules. In the presentstudy, we evaluate the effect of the presence of Au nanoparticles on the photoelectrochemical behaviourof mesoporous TiO2to photo-oxidize water. We observe that the presence of Au nanoparticles leads toenhanced photocurrents for water oxidation and we explore the origin of this enhancement by optical andelectrochemical characterization techniques. Our results indicate that although the Au nanoparticles areresponsible for a localized surface plasmonic resonance effect, which significantly improves the opticaldensity of the electrodes, the main contribution of these nanoparticles to the photocurrent has a catalyticorigin as evidenced by the faster charge transfer kinetics.