United States.

Hydrogen modified titanium oxide (HM-n-TiO2) thin films were synthesized by thermal oxidation of Ti metal substrate. The hydrogenation of n-TiO2 was carried out electrochemically under cathodic polarization at −1.6 V vs SCE in 2.5 KOH electrolyte under dark condition. The photoactivity of HM-n-TiO2 thin films was assessed by measuring the rate of the water splitting reaction in terms of photocurrent density, Jp (mA cm-2) under solar simulated light. The HM-n-TiO2 photoelectrodes exhibited a four-fold enhancement in their photocatalytic activity compared to n-TiO2 prior to hydrogenation. The HM-n-TiO2 photoelectrodes were characterized using X-ray diffractions and the change in the valence band induced by the hydrogenation of n-TiO2 was examined by XPS measurements