Enhancement of photocatalytic performance of plasmon-assisted metallic ion doped titania

•Plasmon assisted metallic ion doped titania was successfully synthesized.•The Ag@AgI–Cr–TiO2 possessed the lowest band gap value of 1.9 eV.•The Ag–AgI plasmonic effect might assist electron transfer and photocatalysis.•After visible light irradiation, the effective MO degradation was realized.

Plasmonic assisted metallic ion doped titania was synthesized successfully by combining the hydrothermal and photoreduction methods. The chromium ion doping resulted to smaller particle size and preferable crystallinity than pure TiO2. Ag@AgI–TiO2–Cr showed the smallest band gap of 1.9 eV, corresponding to the wavelength range until 652 nm. The Ag–AgI plasmonic effect promoted electron transfer and accelerated photocatalytic reaction. Excellent visible light induced MO degradation was effectively realized. The sample Ag@AgI–TiO2–Cr exhibited the best photodegradation activity, which might be related to its smallest band gap, larger specific surface area of 178.3 m2 g−1 and the maximum equilibrium adsorption quantity of 18.0 mg/g.

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