Abstract
To enhance the effectiveness of TiO2 as a photocatalyst, it was believed that the drawbacks of the large bandgap and the rapid electron-hole recombination can be overcome by coupling TiO2 with plasmonic metal nanoparticles. The incorporation of the nanoparticles onto the TiO2 surface requires a suitable procedure to achieve the proper particle adhesion. In this work, we propose a simple, clean, and effective surface activation of TiO2 using plasma enhanced wet chemical surface treatment. Under only 5 min of plasma treatment in a 3% NH3/3% H2O2 solution, gold nanoparticles were found better adhered onto the TiO2 surface. Hence, the methylene blue degradation rate of the Au/TiO2 under sunlight treated was improved by a factor of 3.25 times in comparison to non-treated Au/TiO2 and by 13 times in comparison to the bare rutile TiO2.
Highlights
Titanium dioxide (TiO2 ) is regarded as one of the most fascinating materials for environmental applications [1,2]
In this work we propose a novel, simple, clean, and effective surface activation of TiO2 using the plasma enhanced wet chemical surface treatment
In order to investigate the activating ability of plasma on the solution, we compared the decolorization of methylene blue (MB) with three solutions; 20 mL 10% hydroperoxide, 20 mL
Summary
Titanium dioxide (TiO2 ) is regarded as one of the most fascinating materials for environmental applications [1,2]. It has been intensively investigated as a photocatalyst due to its high photocatalytic activity. TiO2 has a rapid electron-hole recombination [3] and a high bandgap energy [4]. These drawbacks can be overcome by coupling the semiconductor with plasmonic metal nanoparticles [5]. The plasmonic metal nanoparticles are expected to improve the visible light absorption, and to minimize the electron-hole recombination reaction in TiO2. It has been demonstrated that surfacial plasmonic resonance improved the light absorption, increased the charge separation, and enhanced the suppression of electrons and holes, and significantly improved hydrogen generation [6]
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