TiO2/TiOxNY hollow mushrooms-like nanocomposite photoanode for hydrogen electrogeneration

TiO2/TiOxNy hollow mushrooms-like nanocomposite photocatalyst was prepared using atomic layer deposition (ALD) and reactive direct current magnetron sputtering, respectively. The preparation process depends on the aluminum oxide template (AOT) that was fabricated using the two-step anodization process after the Ni imprinting process. The chemical, morphological, and optical properties were recorded using different analyses such as XRD, SEM, EDX, and UV–Vis. From the SEM analyses, the AOT pore size increases from 177 to 305 nm after the pore widening process in H3PO4. The diameter of the TiO2 in the upper part is 352 nm, while the diameter of the TiO2/TiOxNy composite is 355 nm in the upper part. The estimated band gap values of TiO2 and TiO2/TiOxNy are 3.1 and 2.25 eV, respectively. From the values of band gaps, there is a clear enhancement in the optical absorption of the nanocomposite bilayers. The photoelectrochemical (PEC) behaviors of the TiO2/TiOxNy electrodes supported in Au/Ni metal thin film was measured in 1 M NaOH as scarifying reagent. The thermodynamic parameters were calculated, in which ΔE, ΔH*, and ΔS* values are 16.75 kJ mol−1, 15.87 kJ mol−1 and − 115.65 kJ mol−1 K−1, respectively.