Sol—gel preparation and photoelectrochemical properties of TiO 2 films containing Au and Ag metal particles

Abstract

TiO 2 film electrodes with a TiO 2 overlayer containing dispersed Au or Ag metal particles were prepared by the sol-gel method, and the effect of the metal particles on the photoelectrochemical properties of the TiO 2 electrodes were investigated. An increase in the anodic photocurrent in the visible region was observed for both the Au and Ag particle dispersed electrodes, which was thought to result from the surface plasma resonance of the metal particles. The introduction of Au metal particles, however, reduced the anodic photocurrent in the ultraviolet region, resulting in a decrease of the anodic photocurrent under the illumination of xenon lamp light. On the other hand, for the Ag particle dispersed electrodes, the anodic photocurrent in the ultraviolet region increased and then decreased with an increasing amount of Ag particles. These effects of the dispersed metal particles on the photoelectrochemical properties of the TiO 2 electrodes were explained on the basis of the band models.