Silver and gold modified plasmonic TiO2 hybrid films for photocatalytic decomposition of ethanol under visible light

Abstract Plasmonic noble metal nanoparticles (NPs) (silver and gold) are able to sensitise photocatalysts in visible light by modifying the TiO 2 surface with 0.5 wt% loading. These plasmonic catalysts were supported by optically transparent zirconium dioxide and layer silicate. The hybrid catalyst films (with ∼10 μm thickness) were prepared by sputtering the aquatic suspension of the catalyst/support suspension on glass slides and irradiated the films by visible light ( λ  ≥ 435 nm). The photocatalytic efficiency was studied on decomposition of ethanol vapour, and the residual concentration of ethanol was monitored. The intermediates during illumination were analysed by GC–MS. Modifications with silver and gold lead to a change in the optical properties due to the plasmonic light absorption on TiO 2 . The supporting binding materials are almost transparent in UV–vis wavelength range, thus Ag- and Au-modified TiO 2 can be excited by the incoming light without much loss of the photon energy. Furthermore, the layered silicate promoted the photocatalytic process by its high adsorption capacity. Due to these two phenomena, a synergistic effect was found on the photocatalytic activity of the nanocomposite hybrid films.

[1]  I. Dékány,et al.  Photocatalytic oxidation of organic pollutants on titania-clay composites. , 2008, Chemosphere.

[2]  I. Dékány,et al.  Preparation and investigation of structural and photocatalytic properties of phosphate modified titanium dioxide , 2006 .

[3]  D. Fernig,et al.  Determination of size and concentration of gold nanoparticles from UV-vis spectra. , 2007, Analytical chemistry.

[4]  V. Murugesan,et al.  Enhancement of photocatalytic activity by metal deposition: characterisation and photonic efficiency of Pt, Au and Pd deposited on TiO2 catalyst. , 2004, Water research.

[5]  M. Busse,et al.  Preparation and characterization of mesoporous N-doped and sulfuric acid treated anatase TiO2 catalysts and their photocatalytic activity under UV and Vis illumination , 2009 .

[6]  K. K. Saini,et al.  Sol-gel-derived super-hydrophilic nickel doped TiO2 film as active photo-catalyst , 2006 .

[7]  K.,et al.  Charge carrier trapping and recombination dynamics in small semiconductor particles , 1985 .

[8]  I. Dékány,et al.  Growing and stability of gold nanoparticles and their functionalization by cysteine , 2009 .

[9]  T. Yamaki,et al.  Formation of TiO2−xFx compounds in fluorine-implanted TiO2 , 2002 .

[10]  M. Ashokkumar,et al.  Photocatalytic degradation of Acid Red 88 using Au-TiO(2) nanoparticles in aqueous solutions. , 2008, Water research.

[11]  M. Fernández-García,et al.  Photoformed electron transfer from TiO2 to metal clusters , 2008 .

[12]  G. Galbács,et al.  Structural properties and photocatalytic behaviour of phosphate-modified nanocrystalline titania films , 2007 .

[13]  Róbert Kun,et al.  Photooxidation of dichloroacetic acid controlled by pH-stat technique using TiO2/layer silicate nanocomposites , 2006 .

[14]  Aharon Gedanken,et al.  The Surface Chemistry of Au Colloids and Their Interactions with Functional Amino Acids , 2004 .

[15]  A. Villa,et al.  Effects of Au nanoparticles on TiO2 in the photocatalytic degradation of an azo dye , 2007 .

[16]  A. Bard,et al.  Heterogeneous photocatalytic decomposition of saturated carboxylic acids on titanium dioxide powder. Decarboxylative route to alkanes , 1978 .

[17]  T. Yokoyama,et al.  Characterization of Cr(III)-grafted TiO2 for photocatalytic reaction under visible light , 2010 .

[18]  Heechul Choi,et al.  Solar/UV-induced photocatalytic degradation of three commercial textile dyes. , 2002, Journal of hazardous materials.

[19]  Carsten Rockstuhl,et al.  A plasmonic photocatalyst consisting of silver nanoparticles embedded in titanium dioxide. , 2008, Journal of the American Chemical Society.

[20]  I. Dékány,et al.  Photocatalytic activity of silver-modified titanium dioxide at solid-liquid and solid-gas interfaces , 2008 .

[21]  C. Petit,et al.  Effect of support parameters on activity of gold catalysts: Studies of ZrO2, TiO2 and mixture , 2010 .

[22]  F. C. Loh,et al.  Photochemical Formation of Silver Nanoparticles in Poly(N-vinylpyrrolidone) , 1996 .

[23]  Prathamesh Pavaskar,et al.  Plasmonic enhancement of photocatalytic decomposition of methyl orange under visible light , 2011 .

[24]  Hyunjoon Lee,et al.  Tuning of the photocatalytic 1,4-dioxane degradation with surface plasmon resonance of gold nanoparticles on titania , 2009 .

[25]  J. Hupka,et al.  Silver-doped TiO2 prepared by microemulsion method: Surface properties, bio- and photoactivity , 2010 .

[26]  W. Choi,et al.  Photocatalytic reactivity of surface platinized TiO2: substrate specificity and the effect of Pt oxidation state. , 2005, The journal of physical chemistry. B.

[27]  W. Cai,et al.  Plasmonics for extreme light concentration and manipulation. , 2010, Nature materials.

[28]  H. Fu,et al.  Study on the mechanisms of photoinduced carriers separation and recombination for Fe3+–TiO2 photocatalysts , 2007 .

[29]  H. Kisch,et al.  Daylight photocatalysis by carbon-modified titanium dioxide. , 2003, Angewandte Chemie.

[30]  Luis M Liz-Marzán,et al.  Tailoring surface plasmons through the morphology and assembly of metal nanoparticles. , 2006, Langmuir : the ACS journal of surfaces and colloids.

[31]  S. Rayalu,et al.  Solar-based photoreduction of methyl orange using zeolite supported photocatalytic materials , 2007 .

[32]  I. Parkin,et al.  Titanium dioxide and composite metal/metal oxide titania thin films on glass: A comparative study of photocatalytic activity , 2009 .

[33]  C. Karunakaran,et al.  Photocatalysis with ZrO2: oxidation of aniline , 2005 .

[34]  R. Sonawane,et al.  Sol-gel synthesis of Au/TiO2 thin films for photocatalytic degradation of phenol in sunlight , 2006 .

[35]  I. Bertóti,et al.  Surface and bulk composition, structure, and photocatalytic activity of phosphate-modified TiO2 , 2007 .

[36]  Y. Sohn,et al.  The Interfacial Nature of TiO2 and ZnO Nanoparticles Modified by Gold Nanoparticles , 2010 .

[37]  H. Hah,et al.  Comparison of Ag deposition effects on the photocatalytic activity of nanoparticulate TiO2 under visible and UV light irradiation , 2004 .

[38]  M. Aramendía,et al.  Synthesis, characterization and photocatalytic activity of different metal-doped titania systems , 2006 .

[39]  W. Estrada,et al.  Photocatalytic degradation of phenol using TiO2 nanocrystals supported on activated carbon , 2005 .

[40]  Prashant V. Kamat,et al.  Semiconductor−Metal Composite Nanostructures. To What Extent Do Metal Nanoparticles Improve the Photocatalytic Activity of TiO2 Films? , 2001 .