The fabrication of SnSe/Ag nanoparticles on TiO2 nanotubes

SnSe and silver (Ag) nanoparticles were sequentially deposited on TiO2 nanotube (NT) by pulsed electrochemical deposition and polyol chemistry process, respectively. The morphological observation under scanning electron microscope (SEM) showed that the average size of SnSe was about 30 nm and the Ag was about 5 nm. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) combined with selected area electron diffraction (SAED) examination indicated that Ag nanoparticles exhibited a well-defined crystallinity. However, SnSe nanoparticles were amorphous and they turned to crystalline after being annealed at 300 °C in the atmosphere. The photocatalytic behavior of SnSe/Ag-TiO2 NT was evaluated by UV–vis diffuse reflectance spectra (DRS). The results showed that the deposition of SnSe and Ag nanoparticles increased light absorption intensity in the wavelength range of visible light, which implied that the SnSe/Ag-TiO2 NT is a promising ternary hybrid material in photocatalysis.

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► The SnSe and Ag nanoparticles co-modified TiO2 nanotube (NT) was fabricated.
► The average size of SnSe was about 30 nm and the Ag was about 5 nm.
► Both SnSe and Ag exhibited a well distribution density on TiO2 NT.
► UV–vis absorption spectra of SnSe/Ag-TiO2 NT exhibited obvious redshift.