Plasmonic versus catalytic effect of gold nanoparticles on mesoporous TiO2 electrodes for water splitting

Solar water splitting with metal oxide semiconductors constitutes a promising approach to the conversion of solar energy into chemical energy stored in the atomic bonds of hydrogen molecules. In the present study, we evaluate the effect of the presence of Au nanoparticles on the photoelectrochemical behaviour of mesoporous TiO2 to photo-oxidize water. We observe that the presence of Au nanoparticles leads to enhanced photocurrents for water oxidation and we explore the origin of this enhancement by optical and electrochemical characterization techniques. Our results indicate that although the Au nanoparticles are responsible for a localized surface plasmonic resonance effect, which significantly improves the optical density of the electrodes, the main contribution of these nanoparticles to the photocurrent has a catalytic origin as evidenced by the faster charge transfer kinetics.