The photocatalytic activity of TiO2/WO3/noble metal (Au or Pt) nanoarchitectures obtained by selective photodeposition

Titania/tungsten (VI) oxide/noble metal (gold and platinum) composites were obtained by the means of selective noble metal photodeposition on the desired oxide's surface (either on TiO2 or on WO3). The noble metal particles’ localization was proved by SEM-EDX, while their size with DRS and TEM. The influence of the noble metal nanoparticles’ position was investigated successfully on the light absorption properties, photocatalytic activity toward oxalic acid and photocatalytic hydrogen production. Major differences were observed in the photocatalytic performance of the catalysts in which only the position of the noble metal was changed. Consequently, highly active composites were obtained, that surpassed the reference catalysts’ (TiO2(Au), TiO2(Pt), WO3(Au), WO3(Pt)) oxalic acid degradation yield and were also quite active for photocatalytic hydrogen production.

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► The selective photodeposition influences the band-gap of the composites.
► Positioning of the Au or Pt grains on TiO2 or WO3 defines the composite's activity.
► The H2 production is also dependent from the noble metal particles’ localization.
► High degradation yields were attained for oxalic acid using the new nanocomposites.