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Plasmon-enhanced photocatalysis: Ag/TiO2 nanocomposite for the photochemical reduction of bicarbonate to formic acid

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 January 2019

Hanqing Pan  and
Michael D. Heagy
Hanqing Pan
Affiliation:
Department of Chemistry, New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, 801 Leroy Place, Socorro, NM87801
Michael D. Heagy*
Affiliation:
Department of Chemistry, New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, 801 Leroy Place, Socorro, NM87801
*
*(Email: michael.heagy@nmt.edu)
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Abstract

Plasmonic metallic nanoparticles can significantly enhance the catalytic efficiency of semiconductors via plasmonic photocatalysis. In this study, a hybrid Ag/TiO2 photocatalyst was synthesized and tested for the photochemical reduction of bicarbonate to value-added formic acid. It was found that under solar irradiation, TiO2 is not very efficient, but formate production is significantly increased with the addition of silver nanoparticles. Under 365 nm irradiation, the photocatalytic efficiency of TiO2 is enhanced, but no effect was observed with the addition of silver nanoparticles. Under solar irradiation, Ag/TiO2 reached an apparent quantum efficiency (AQE) of 7.78 ± 0.04%, the highest AQE observed so far. Enhanced photocatalytic activity is attributed to the synergistic effect between UV photon excitation of TiO2 and surface plasmon resonance enhancement. To elucidate the mechanism of plasmon-enhanced photocatalysis, experiments were performed under solar irradiation and 365 nm irradiation. We propose that photo-excited electrons are transferred from above the Fermi level of the metal nanoparticle to the conduction band of the semiconductor through plasmon-induced electron transfer.

Keywords

carbon dioxidecatalyticplasmonicTinanoscale
Type
Articles
Information
MRS Advances , Volume 4 , Issue 7: Nanomaterials , 2019 , pp. 425 - 433
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2019 

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