Plasmonic and Photonic Effects on Hydrogen Evolution over Chemically Modified Titania Inverse Opals

Abstract The photonic effects of chemically modified titania inverse opals can be exploited for improving photocatalytic hydrogen production. This work reports the in situ preparation of gold‐platinum nanoparticle (NP)‐loaded and nitrogen‐fluorine co‐doped titania inverse opal photocatalysts with different photonic band gaps (PBGs). In situ loading of gold and platinum NPs was carried out during the preparation of titania inverse opals by treating the titania precursor with gold chloride and platinum chloride. Au−Pt/N−F TiO₂ IO‐460 samples with the photonic effects matching the surface plasmon resonance region of Au NPs displayed a maximum activity with a hydrogen production rate of 134 mmol h⁻¹ g⁻¹. The hydrogen yield (97 mmol h⁻¹ g⁻¹) obtained for Au−Pt/N−F TiO₂ IO‐215, with the photonic effects close to the electronic bandgap of titania was also high when compared to that of the nanocrystalline counterpart, Au−Pt/N−F nc‐TiO₂ (49 mmol h⁻¹ g⁻¹). Excellent solar hydrogen evolution profile was observed for in situ gold‐platinum NP‐loaded and nitrogen‐fluorine co‐doped titania inverse opal photocatalysts when compared to recent reports.