Enhancement of WO3 Performance through Resonance Coupling with Ag Nanoparticles

Silver nanoparticles deposited on FTO conductive glass substrate have been incorporated within n-type WO3 films formed by a sol-gel method. A large enhancement in water splitting photocurrents under AM1.5 visible light irradiation for the WO3 photoanode with embedded Ag nanoparticles was observed. The ability of Ag nanoparticle arrays on FTO to generate localized surface plasmons under visible wavelengths in the presence of the WO3 over-layer was confirmed by scanning near-field optical microscopy (SNOM) measurements.