title: Three-dimensional plasmonic photoanodes based on Au-embedded TiO(2) structures for enhanced visible-light water splitting.
abstract: Plasmon-assisted visible light photocatalysis presents a possible solution for direct solar-to-fuel production. Here we investigate the plasmon-enhanced photocatalytic water splitting using different TiO2/Au electrode structures. Experimental data demonstrates that the Au embedded in TiO2 (Au-in-TiO2) electrode greatly outperforms the Au sitting on TiO2 (Au-on-TiO2) electrode. Numerical simulation shows that the local electric field is very intense in the semiconductor near Au nanoparticles, which causes the enhancement of electron-hole pair generation. A 3D Au-embedded TiO2 structure is thus proposed to further improve the light absorption and photocatalytic performance.
authors.affiliation: School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Nanyang Technological University , Nanyang Avenue 50, Singapore , 639798.
authors.forename: Zhaoyao
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhan
authors.forename: Jianing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: An
authors.forename: Huanchao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Reinack Varghese
authors.initials: RV
authors.lastname: Hansen
authors.forename: Lianxi
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zheng