Photocatalytic Activity of Au/TiO2 Photocatalysts for H2 Evolution: Role of the Au Nanoparticles as a Function of the Irradiation Wavelength

Marco Serra; Josep Albero; Hermenegildo García

doi:10.1002/cphc.201500141

Photocatalytic Activity of Au/TiO2 Photocatalysts for H2 Evolution: Role of the Au Nanoparticles as a Function of the Irradiation Wavelength

Chemphyschem. 2015 Jun 22;16(9):1842-5. doi: 10.1002/cphc.201500141. Epub 2015 Apr 23.

Authors

Marco Serra¹, Josep Albero¹, Hermenegildo García²

Affiliations

¹ Instituto Universitario de Tecnología Química CSIC-UPV, Univ. Politécnica de Valencia, Avda. de los Naranjos s/n, 46022 Valencia (Spain).
² Instituto Universitario de Tecnología Química CSIC-UPV, Univ. Politécnica de Valencia, Avda. de los Naranjos s/n, 46022 Valencia (Spain). hgarcia@qim.upv.es.

PMID: 25908252
DOI: 10.1002/cphc.201500141

Abstract

An investigation of hydrogen production with a series of Au/TiO2 photocatalysts reveals that the Au nanoparticles play different roles depending on the wavelength of the light irradiation. Under visible-light irradiation, the photoactivity is primarily controlled by the intensity of the Au surface plasmon band, whereas under UV irradiation the Au nanoparticles act as co-catalysts with TiO2 .

Keywords: H2 evolution; gold; light harvester; nanoparticles; photocatalysis.