Photocatalytic Activity of Au/TiO2 Photocatalysts for H2 Evolution: Role of the Au Nanoparticles as a Function of the Irradiation Wavelength

An investigation of hydrogen production with a series of Au/TiO2 photocatalysts reveals that the Au nanoparticles play different roles depending on the wavelength of the light irradiation. Under visible-light irradiation, the photoactivity is primarily controlled by the intensity of the Au surface plasmon band, whereas under UV irradiation the Au nanoparticles act as co-catalysts with TiO2.Financial support by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (Severo Ochoa and CTQ2012-32315) and Generalitat Valenciana (Prometeo 2013/014) is gratefully acknowledged. M.S. and J.A. thank the Spanish CSIC and Severo Ochoa program for a postgraduate scholarship and a research associate contract, respectively.Serra, M.; Albero Sancho, J.; García Gómez, H. (2015). Photocatalytic Activity of Au/TiO2 Photocatalysts for H2 Evolution: Role of the Au Nanoparticles as a Function of the Irradiation Wavelength. ChemPhysChem. 16(9):1842-1845. https://doi.org/10.1002/cphc.20150014118421845169Bard, A. J., & Fox, M. A. (1995). Artificial Photosynthesis: Solar Splitting of Water to Hydrogen and Oxygen. Accounts of Chemical Research, 28(3), 141-145. doi:10.1021/ar00051a007Balzani, V., Credi, A., & Venturi, M. (2008). Photochemical Conversion of Solar Energy. ChemSusChem, 1(1-2), 26-58. doi:10.1002/cssc.200700087Centi, G., & Perathoner, S. (2010). Towards Solar Fuels from Water and CO2. ChemSusChem, 3(2), 195-208. doi:10.1002/cssc.200900289Herrmann, J.-M. (1999). Heterogeneous photocatalysis: fundamentals and applications to the removal of various types of aqueous pollutants. Catalysis Today, 53(1), 115-129. doi:10.1016/s0920-5861(99)00107-8Maeda, K., & Domen, K. (2010). Photocatalytic Water Splitting: Recent Progress and Future Challenges. The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters, 1(18), 2655-2661. doi:10.1021/jz1007966Montes-Navajas, P., Serra, M., Corma, A., & Garcia, H. (2014). Contrasting photocatalytic activity of commercial TiO2 samples for hydrogen generation. Catalysis Today, 225, 52-54. doi:10.1016/j.cattod.2013.09.025Hammarström, L. (2009). Artificial Photosynthesis and Solar Fuels. Accounts of Chemical Research, 42(12), 1859-1860. doi:10.1021/ar900267kPrimo, A., Corma, A., & García, H. (2011). Titania supported gold nanoparticles as photocatalyst. Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 13(3), 886-910. doi:10.1039/c0cp00917bPrimo, A., Marino, T., Corma, A., Molinari, R., & García, H. (2011). Efficient Visible-Light Photocatalytic Water Splitting by Minute Amounts of Gold Supported on Nanoparticulate CeO2Obtained by a Biopolymer Templating Method. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 133(18), 6930-6933. doi:10.1021/ja2011498Gomes Silva, C., Juárez, R., Marino, T., Molinari, R., & García, H. (2011). Influence of Excitation Wavelength (UV or Visible Light) on the Photocatalytic Activity of Titania Containing Gold Nanoparticles for the Generation of Hydrogen or Oxygen from Water. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 133(3), 595-602. doi:10.1021/ja1086358Yan, J., Wu, G., Guan, N., & Li, L. (2013). Synergetic promotion of the photocatalytic activity of TiO2 by gold deposition under UV-visible light irradiation. Chemical Communications, 49(100), 11767. doi:10.1039/c3cc46832aNaya, S., Teranishi, M., Isobe, T., & Tada, H. (2010). Light wavelength-switchable photocatalytic reaction by gold nanoparticle-loaded titanium(iv) dioxide. Chem. Commun., 46(5), 815-817. doi:10.1039/b918444aMurdoch, M., Waterhouse, G. I. N., Nadeem, M. A., Metson, J. B., Keane, M. A., Howe, R. F., … Idriss, H. (2011). The effect of gold loading and particle size on photocatalytic hydrogen production from ethanol over Au/TiO2 nanoparticles. Nature Chemistry, 3(6), 489-492. doi:10.1038/nchem.1048Montes-Navajas, P., Serra, M., & Garcia, H. (2013). Influence of the irradiation wavelength on the photocatalytic activity of Au–Pt nanoalloys supported on TiO2 for hydrogen generation from water. Catalysis Science & Technology, 3(9), 2252. doi:10.1039/c3cy00102