Effects of Traps on Photo-induced Interfacial Charge Transfer of Ag-TiO₂: Photoelectrochemical, Electrochemical and Spectroscopic Characterizations

Authors

Zhi-Hao Liang, State Key Laboratory of Physical Chemistry of Solid Surfaces and College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, Fujian, China
Jia-Zheng Wang, State Key Laboratory of Physical Chemistry of Solid Surfaces and College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, Fujian, China
Dan Wang, State Key Laboratory of Physical Chemistry of Solid Surfaces and College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, Fujian, China
Jian-Zhang Zhou, State Key Laboratory of Physical Chemistry of Solid Surfaces and College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, Fujian, ChinaFollow
De-Yin Wu, State Key Laboratory of Physical Chemistry of Solid Surfaces and College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, Fujian, China

Corresponding Author

Jian-Zhang Zhou(jzzhou@xmu.edu.cn)

Abstract

In the field of metal-semiconductor composites based plasmon-mediated chemical reactions, a clear and in-depth understanding of charge transfer and recombination mechanisms is crucial for improving plasmonic photocatalytic efficiency. However, the plasmonic photocatalytic reactions at the solid-liquid interface of the electrochemical systems involve complex processes with multiple elementary steps, multiple time scales, and multiple controlling factors. Herein, the combination of photoelectrochemical and electrochemical as well as spectroscopic characterizations has been successfully used to study the effects of traps on the photo-induced interfacial charge transfer of silver-titanium dioxide (Ag-TiO₂). The results show that the increase of surface hydroxyl groups may be the key reason leading to the increase of traps after the Ag deposition on the surface of TiO₂. The increased traps of Ag-TiO₂, including deep and shallow traps, subsequently lead to the quenching of fluorescence and the reduction of photocurrent in the UV region. But the enhanced trap recombination may also prolong the lifetime of carriers. The modulation of traps is bound to affect the interfacial charge transfer, and thus, change the amount and lifetime of hot carriers, which can be exploited to manipulate the molecular reactions at the Ag surface. Our work highlights the importance of traps at metal-semiconductor electrodes that may help utilize the hot carriers in plasmonic mediated chemical reactions.

Graphical Abstract

Keywords

Plasmonic; Silver-titanium dioxide; Trap state; Charge transfer; Photoelectrochemical Characterization

DOI Link

https://doi.org/10.13208/j.electrochem.2208101

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Publication Date

2023-08-28

Online Available Date

2022-09-15

Revised Date

2022-09-09

Received Date

2022-08-10

Recommended Citation

Zhi-Hao Liang, Jia-Zheng Wang, Dan Wang, Jian-Zhang Zhou, De-Yin Wu. Effects of Traps on Photo-induced Interfacial Charge Transfer of Ag-TiO₂: Photoelectrochemical, Electrochemical and Spectroscopic Characterizations[J]. Journal of Electrochemistry, 2023 , 29(8): 2208101.
DOI: 10.13208/j.electrochem.2208101
Available at: https://jelectrochem.xmu.edu.cn/journal/vol29/iss8/4