Photocatalytic H_2 production on self-decorated Au nanoparticles/TiO_2 nanotubes under visible light

摘要

In the present workwe fabricate TiO_2 nanotubes that are self-decorated with Au nanoparticles by anodizing low concentration (0.02 and 0.2 at.% Au) TiAu alloys. After formation, the TiO_2 tube walls carry regularly dispersed self-decorated Au particles with ~5 nm in diameter which cause significant surface plasmon resonances. This plasmon resonance effect can be exploited to achieve visible photoresponse and can be used for photocatalytic H_2 production under visible light illumination.