M. Kang, N. Son, J. Kim, J.N. Heo, J.Y. Do
Yeungnam University,
Korea
Keywords: hydrogen production, water splitting, Ag2S/Ag/Ag3VO4, surface plasmon resonance effect
Summary:
This study aimed to improve the hydrogen production by water photosplitting using the strong electron attracting property of Ag ion and the surface plasmon resonance effect of metallic Ag. The vertically stacked Ag2S/Ag/Ag3VO4 material fabricated by the top-down method showed a flower-like shape, which absorbed a broad wavelength range of 200 nm to 600 nm or more. Using this catalyst, the amount of hydrogen generated from water splitting with and without methanol scavenger was measured after 10 h accumulation under visible light. There was no significant difference between 8.51 umol/g and 6.64 umol/g, respectively. A unique feature in this study is the role of Ag inserted in the middle. From the EFM image, it was shown that electrons excited from Ag3VO4 pass through Ag and flow to Ag2S. Ultimately, this study shows that the bridged Ag added between Ag2S and Ag3VO4 promotes the efficient charge separation as well as a tuned instrument to keep the stable catalyst performance.