Enhanced photoresponse under visible light in Pt ionized TiO2 nanotube for the photocatalytic splitting of water

We report a new material, platinum ion-exchanged titania nanotubes (Pt(IE)/TiNT) synthesized by hydrothermal method, was found to be active under visible light irradiation. The platinum nanoparticles well embeded in nanotube matrixes in the ionized samples were highly photoactive materials for the stoichiometric production of hydrogen and oxygen by the splitting of water under visible light at one sun, resulting in hydrogen evolution rates of 14.6 and 2.3 μmol/h in aqueous methanol and pure water, respectively.