The research on photocatalytic oxygen evolution of Bi4Ti3O12 microsphere by different Ag-loading content

• Published in: Materials letters 2023-06, Vol.341, p.134219, Article 134219
• Main Authors: Cao, Xiaoyan, Liu, Chenxu, Li, Qian, Chen, Jitang, Han, Yan, Ma, Chengbing, Li, Huiquan, Cui, Yumin, Wang, Biao, Bo, Lianzhen, Yuan, Yupeng
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Ag/Bi4Ti3O12; Nanocomposites; Oxidation; Photocatalysis; Water splitting
• ISSN: 0167-577X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.matlet.2023.134219

[Display omitted] •Ag/BTO nanocomposites were successfully synthesized by a simple solvothermal method.•The photocatalytic activity of BTO is obviously improved by the loading of Ag nanoparticles.•SPR effect enhances the absorption intensity of BTO in 400–700 nm region.•Ag/BTO reduces the energy barrier of the key step (O* → OOH*).•Schottky barrier facilitates the separation of photo-generated electrons-hole pairs. The search of catalysts with high efficiency for photocatalytic oxygen evolution by water splitting has always attracted great attention of global scientists. In this study, Ag/Bi4Ti3O12 (Ag/BTO) nanocomposites with surface plasmon resonance (SPR) effect were synthesized by a solvothermal method. Compared with BTO, Ag/BTO narrowed the band gap, improved the absorption intensity in 400–700 nm region, increased the separation efficiency of photo-induced electron-hole pairs, reduced the energy barrier (from 2.18 to 1.39 eV) of the key step (O* → OOH*) from water splitting, and remarkably enhanced the photocatalytic water oxidation ability. The oxygen evolution rate of visible-light-driven 3-Ag/BTO with an appropriate silver content is 2623.51 μmol∙g−1∙h−1, which is 8.39 times higher than that of BTO without any sacrificial agent. Moreover, the excellent performance of 3-Ag/BTO is also obviously higher than that of most reported photocatalysts.