Nano Express
Enhanced photocatalysis by coupling of anatase TiO2 film to triangular Ag nanoparticle island
Author affiliations
1 Key Laboratory of Artificial Micro- and Nano-structures of Ministry of Education, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430072, People ’ s Republic of China
2 State Key Laboratory of Electronic Thin Films and Integrated Devices, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, 610054, People ’ s Republic of China
3 Center for Electron Microscopy and School of Physics and Technology, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430072, People ’ s Republic of China
4 School of Electrical & Electronic Engineering, Hubei University of Technology, Wuhan, 430068, People ’ s Republic of China
Citation and License
Nanoscale Research Letters 2012, 7:239 doi:10.1186/1556-276X-7-239
Published: 2 May 2012Abstract
In order to overcome the low utilization ratio of solar light and high electron-hole pair recombination rate of TiO2, the triangular Ag nanoparticle island is covered on the surface of the TiO2 thin film. Enhancement of the photocatalytic activity of the Ag/TiO2 nanocomposite system is observed. The increase of electron-hole pair generation is caused by the enhanced near-field amplitudes of localized surface plasmon of the Ag nanoparticles. The efficiently suppressed recombination of electron-hole pair caused by the metal-semiconductor contact can also enhance the photocatalytic activity of the TiO2 film.
