Zhao, Wenhao;
Wen, Liping;
Parkin, Ivan P;
Zhao, Xiujian;
Liu, Baoshun;
(2023)
Fermi-level shift, electron separation, and plasmon resonance change in Ag nanoparticle-decorated TiO₂ under UV light illumination.
Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics
, 25
(29)
pp. 20134-20144.
10.1039/d3cp00899a.
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Abstract
Noble metal nanoparticles are widely used as co-catalysts for storing and separating electrons in semiconductor photocatalysis. Thus, evaluating this ability is important and meaningful to understand the photocatalytic mechanism. Employing Ag nanoparticles, the present study combined in situ photoconductance and theoretical analysis to evaluate the Fermi-level (EF) shift in a UV-illuminated Ag/TiO₂ system under gaseous conditions. Based on this, the role of the Ag nanoparticles in storing and separating electrons was discussed. It was found that the EF of Ag/TiO₂ is located deeper in the gap and a variation in temperature has less effect on the EF of Ag/TiO₂ compared to the undecorated TiO₂. The analysis showed that ∼46 electrons can be stored in 10 nm Ag nanoparticles under our experimental conditions, which does not change with temperature. The electron traps in TiO₂ can affect the electron distribution in the TiO₂ and Ag nanoparticles. It was observed that the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) of the Ag nanoparticles exhibited a blue-shift under UV light illumination, which is generally ascribed to the electron storage in the Ag nanoparticles. However, we showed that the blue-shift is not related to the electron storage in the Ag nanoparticles, and thus it cannot be used as an indicator for evaluating their electron-storage ability. The in situ XPS analysis also does not support that the LSPR blue shift is associated with the reduction in the Ag₂O layer and TiO₂.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Fermi-level shift, electron separation, and plasmon resonance change in Ag nanoparticle-decorated TiO₂ under UV light illumination |
| Location: | England |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1039/d3cp00899a |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1039/D3CP00899A |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | This version is the author-accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions. |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences |
| URI: | https://discovery-pp.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10174312 |
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