Plasmon induced green synthesized nano silver doped titania nanotubes array for photoelectrochemical (PEC) application

The capillary effect of titanium nanotube arrays (TNTs) was used for in-situ deposition of green synthesized silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) to create hybrid Ag-TNT nanostructures . Titania is a well-known and well-established photocatalyst , although its applications are limited to the ultraviolet region. Under visible light irradiation, the silver nanoparticles , which are recognized for their plasmonics , create the ideal pair as an efficient photosensitizer to promote photocatalytic water splitting . In this approach, a green synthesis method was used to synthesize nano silver colloid, and the silver nanoparticles were then introduced to an anodized titanium plate for incorporation. The photocatalysts are characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), UV-VIS-diffuse reflectance spectra , Fluorescence spectroscopy , and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) to explore their structural and optical properties . Time-resolved photoluminescence (TRPL) spectroscopy was employed to understand the charger carrier kinetics and the electrons/holes recombination strategy using the bi-exponential decay function. The visible-light-driven hydrogen production activities of Ag-TNT photocatalysts were evaluated and the hydrogen production rate of Ag-TNT was 12 times higher than TNT. The surface plasmon resonance (SPR) effect of Ag-NPs improves visible-light harvesting and electron transport to the conduction band . The use of the capillary effect to deposit green AgNPs is a simple and promising method for improving Titania-based photocatalyst performance.