We demonstrate, for the first time, the synthesis of highly ordered titanium oxynitride nanotube arrays sensitized with Ag nanoparticles (Ag/TiON) as an attractive class of materials for visible-light-driven water splitting. The nanostructure topology of TiO2, TiON and Ag/TiON was investigated using FESEM and TEM. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and the energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) analyses confirm the formation of the oxynitride structure. Upon their use to split water photoelectrochemically under AM 1.5 G illumination (100 mW/cm2, 0.1 M KOH), the titanium oxynitride nanotube array films showed significant increase in the photocurrent (6 mA/cm2) compared to the TiO2 nanotubes counterpart (0.15 mA/cm2). Moreover, decorating the TiON nanotubes with Ag nanoparticles (13 ± 2 nm in size) resulted in exceptionally high photocurrent reaching 14 mA/cm2 at 1.0 VSCE. This enhancement in the photocurrent is related to the synergistic effects of Ag decoration, nitrogen doping, and the unique structural properties of the fabricated nanotube arrays.
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机译：我们首次展示了用银纳米颗粒（Ag / TiON）敏化的高度有序的氧氮化钛纳米管阵列的合成，作为可见光驱动的水分解的一类有吸引力的材料。利用FESEM和TEM研究了TiO2，TiON和Ag / TiON的纳米结构拓扑。 X射线光电子能谱（XPS）和能量色散X射线能谱（EDS）分析证实了氮氧化物结构的形成。氮氧化钛纳米管阵列膜在AM 1.5 G光照（100 mW / cm 2 ，0.1 M KOH）下用于光化学分解水时，其光电流显着增加（6 mA / cm 2 ）与TiO2纳米管对应物（0.15 mA / cm 2 ）相比。此外，用Ag纳米粒子（尺寸为13±2 nm）装饰TiON纳米管在1.0 VSCE时产生了非常高的光电流，达到14 mA / cm 2 。光电流的这种增强与银装饰，氮掺杂以及所制造的纳米管阵列的独特结构特性的协同效应有关。
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