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Silver-decorated titanium dioxide nanotube arrays with improved photocatalytic activity for visible light irradiation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 June 2014

Kansong Chen ,
Xinran Feng ,
Han Tian ,
Yang Li ,
Kun Xie ,
Rui Hu ,
Yaxuan Cai  and
Haoshuang Gu
Kansong Chen*
Affiliation:
Faculty of Computer Science and Information Engineering, Hubei University, Wuhan 430062, People's Republic of China; and Hubei Collaborative Innovation Center for Advanced Organic Chemical Materials, Wuhan 430062, People's Republic of China
Xinran Feng
Affiliation:
Faculty of Computer Science and Information Engineering, Hubei University, Wuhan 430062, People's Republic of China; and Hubei Collaborative Innovation Center for Advanced Organic Chemical Materials, Wuhan 430062, People's Republic of China
Han Tian
Affiliation:
Faculty of Computer Science and Information Engineering, Hubei University, Wuhan 430062, People's Republic of China; and Hubei Collaborative Innovation Center for Advanced Organic Chemical Materials, Wuhan 430062, People's Republic of China
Yang Li
Affiliation:
Faculty of Computer Science and Information Engineering, Hubei University, Wuhan 430062, People's Republic of China; and Hubei Collaborative Innovation Center for Advanced Organic Chemical Materials, Wuhan 430062, People's Republic of China
Kun Xie
Affiliation:
Faculty of Computer Science and Information Engineering, Hubei University, Wuhan 430062, People's Republic of China; and Hubei Collaborative Innovation Center for Advanced Organic Chemical Materials, Wuhan 430062, People's Republic of China
Rui Hu
Affiliation:
Faculty of Computer Science and Information Engineering, Hubei University, Wuhan 430062, People's Republic of China; and Hubei Collaborative Innovation Center for Advanced Organic Chemical Materials, Wuhan 430062, People's Republic of China
Yaxuan Cai
Affiliation:
Faculty of Computer Science and Information Engineering, Hubei University, Wuhan 430062, People's Republic of China; and Hubei Collaborative Innovation Center for Advanced Organic Chemical Materials, Wuhan 430062, People's Republic of China
Haoshuang Gu*
Affiliation:
Faculty of Computer Science and Information Engineering, Hubei University, Wuhan 430062, People's Republic of China; and Hubei Collaborative Innovation Center for Advanced Organic Chemical Materials, Wuhan 430062, People's Republic of China
*
a) Address all correspondence to these authors. e-mail: [email protected]
b) e-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

Silver-decorated titanium dioxide (Ag/TiO2) nanotube (NT) arrays were successfully prepared using a two-step synthesis route comprised of an anodic oxidation procedure followed by photochemical reduction using ultraviolet irradiation. The resulting Ag/TiO2 NT arrays were characterized using scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, x-ray diffraction, and UV-vis diffusion reflectance spectrometry. The characterization results indicated that the silver decoration significantly enhanced the light absorption capability of the TiO2 NT arrays in the visible spectral range. The visible light photocatalytic activity of the subject NT arrays was investigated. The experimental results showed the photocatalytic activity of silver-decorated titanium dioxide Ag/TiO2 NT arrays to be dependent on the size of the silver particles. The improved visible light absorption can be attributed to plasmonic effects induced by particle size phenomenon. The Ag/TiO2 NT arrays exhibit promising application for photocatalytic degradation of dye solutions and pollutants in water using visible irradiation.

Keywords

nanostructureschemical synthesiscatalytic
Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Materials Research , Volume 29 , Issue 11 , 14 June 2014 , pp. 1302 - 1308
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2014 

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