Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
6612845 | Electrochimica Acta | 2014 | 19 Pages |
Abstract
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.
Related Topics
Physical Sciences and Engineering
Chemical Engineering
Chemical Engineering (General)
Authors
Marta Haro, Rafael Abargues, Isaac Herraiz-Cardona, Juan MartÃnez-Pastor, Sixto Giménez,