Effect of silver deposition on photocatalytic activity of TiO2

The Ag/TiO2 photocatalyst with varying Ag loadings was prepared by the photodeposition method and its photocatalytic activity was tested using phenol degradation as the model reaction. Transmission electron microscopy and diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) were used to observe the distribution and size of silver clusters on the TiO2 surface and to determine the optical characteristics of Ag/TiO2, respectively. The results showed that a suitable Ag loading could greatly enhance the TiO2 photocatalytic activity. Ag clusters were formed on the TiO2 surface and the size of Ag clusters increased with the increase in Ag loading. The DRS results indicated that silver deposition had no effect on the optical characteristics of the catalyst lit the UV region. The relationship between the Ag loading and the photocatalytic activity of Ag/TiO2 was discussed