Surface plasmon resonance-enhanced visible-light-driven photocatalysis by Ag nanoparticles decorated S-TiO2−x nanorods

A novel plasmonic Ag decorated S-TiO 2− x nanorods are successfully fabricated under 700 °C calcination, then followed by an in-situ solid-state chemical reduction approach with NaBH 4 in a mild calcination (350 °C) and combined with photo-deposition approach. The resultant Ag/S-TiO 2− x sample with high crystallinity and narrow band gap of ∼2.39 eV, extends the photoresponse to near-infrared region. The visible-light-driven photocatalytic degradation rate of phenol and hydrogen production rate for Ag/S-TiO 2− x nanorods are as high as 98.67% and 209.2 µmol h −1 g −1 , which is about 2 and 5 times higher than that of S-TiO 2 . Especially, first-order reaction rate constant of Ag/S-TiO 2− x nanorods is 14 times higher than that of S-TiO 2 . The excellent photocatalytic property can be attributed to the synergistic effect of Ti 3+ self-doping, S doping and the enhanced surface plasmon resonance of Ag nanoparticles, which narrows the band gap, favors the visible light utilization, and promotes the separation of photogenerated charge carriers.