Room temperature sequential ionic deposition (SID) of Ag sub(2)S nanoparticles on TiO sub(2) hierarchical spheres for enhanced catalytic efficiency

• Published in: Journal of materials chemistry. A, Materials for energy and sustainability Vol. 3; no. 12; pp. 6509 - 6516
• Main Authors: Ong, Wei Li, Lim, Yee-Fun, Ting Ong, June Lay, Ho, Ghim Wei
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 01.03.2015
• Subjects: Charge; Clean energy; Degradation; Deposition; Photocatalysis; Rate constants; Sustainability; Titanium dioxide; Water splitting
• ISSN: 2050-7488; 2050-7496
• DOI: 10.1039/c4ta06674j

Porous TiO sub(2) hierarchical spheres with high surface area synthesized viaa solvothermal method were successfully modified with an Ag sub(2)S co-catalyst by a sequential ionic deposition (SID) method at room temperature. The presence of Ag sub(2)S facilitated efficient charge separation, thus reducing recombination and enhancing the photocatalytic activity of the photocatalyst. The enhanced photocatalytic performance was demonstrated by water splitting where hydrogen (H sub(2)) gas was produced at an evolution rate of 708 mu mol h super(-1) g super(-1) and methyl orange was degraded with a rate constant of 0.018 min super(-1). This is the first time that photocatalytic water splitting using a suspension system has been demonstrated on a Ag sub(2)S/TiO sub(2) hierarchical heterostructure and the material shows stability in its photocatalytic performance despite being recycled several times. The composite material presents properties which are highly promising for the generation of clean energy and environmental clean up applications.