How much is the plasmonic effect worth in photocatalysis? Mechanisms of photocatalytic activity enhancement in composites with metallic nanostructures

Abstract

In this work preparation of titanium dioxide polymorphs modified with metallic (Au and Ag) nanostructures of different sizes is presented. The photocatalytic activity of such materials along with their photoelectrochemical and electronic properties was examined. Moreover, the possible influence of the surface plasmon resonance phenomenon on the photocatalytic activity enhancement in the examined materials was established. It turned out that the plasmonic nanostructures do not imply better activity of the materials in the visible light range. Moreover, the redox properties of the materials after the deposition of metallic nanostructures changed significantly.