The environment effect on the electrical conductivity and photoconductivity of anatase TiO2 nanoplates with silver nanoparticles photodeposited on {101} crystal facets

The electrical conductivity and the transient photoconductivity of Ag/TiO2 nanoplates were studied at 300 K, both in vacuum and in air. A solvothermal method was used for the preparation of anatase TiO2 nanoplates and the embedding of Ag nanoparticles was achieved via the photoreduction of AgNO3 under UVA irradiation. The particle size was controlled by varying the time of illumination and the obtained Ag nanoparticles sizes were in a range of 5-20 nm. The Ag/TiO2 nanoplates were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transition electron microscopy (TEM). The electrical conductivity and the photoconductivity responses were investigated. The influence of environment was also discussed. For some periods of UVA illumination time, photoconductivity reaches higher values in comparison with the pure TiO2 anatase nanoplates. In air, the influence of the adsorbed on the surface oxygen is obvious, resulting in high recombination rates.