Efficient photocatalysis with graphene oxide/Ag/Ag 2 S-TiO 2 nanocomposites under visible light irradiation.

Lack of visible light response and low quantum yield hinder the practical application of TiO 2 as a high-performance photocatalyst. Herein, we present a rational design of TiO 2 nanorod arrays (NRAs) decorated with Ag/Ag 2 S nanoparticles (NPs) synthesized through successive ion layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) and covered by graphene oxide (GO) at room temperature. Ag/Ag 2 S NPs with uniform sizes are well-dispersed on the TiO 2 nanorods (NRs) as evidenced by electron microscopic analyses. The photocatalyst GO/Ag/Ag 2 S decorated TiO 2 NRAs shows much higher visible light absorption response, which leads to remarkably enhanced photocatalytic activities on both dye degradation and photoelectrochemical (PEC) performance. Its photocatalytic reaction efficiency is 600% higher than that of pure TiO 2 sample under visible light. This remarkable enhancement can be attributed to a synergy of electron-sink function and surface plasmon resonance (SPR) of Ag NPs, band matching of Ag 2 S NPs, and rapid charge carrier transport by GO, which significantly improves charge separation of the photoexcited TiO 2 . The photocurrent density of GO/Ag/Ag 2 S-TiO 2 NRAs reached to maximum ( i.e. 6.77 mA cm -2 vs. 0 V). Our study proves that the rational design of composite nanostructures enhances the photocatalytic activity under visible light, and efficiently utilizes the complete solar spectrum for pollutant degradation.