Silver phosphate loading on titanium dioxide nanotubes for enhanced photocurrent response

Titanium dioxide (TiO 2 ) has always attracted much attention in the fields of semiconductors and photocatalysis due to its narrow band gap. Especially because of its excellent photocatalytic performance, its application research in water pollution treatment is extremely extensive. However, most studies have focused on modifying and transforming TiO 2 particles that are difficult to recycle and prone to secondary pollution to achieve better photocatalytic performance. In this paper, regular TiO 2 nanotubes were obtained by conducting secondary anodization on the titanium-based surface through the anodic oxidation method, and the Ag 3 PO 4 /TiO 2 structure was prepared by in-situ method. The results show that the photoelectric response of the TiO 2 oxide film loaded with Ag 3 PO 4 is significantly stronger than that of pure TiO 2 oxide film. Mild annealing (300℃) in an argon atmosphere after loading Ag 3 PO 4 can increase the photocurrent response intensity of the sample by 88 %. Based on the analysis of the results of SEM, TEM and XPS, Ag/Ag 3 PO 4 nanoparticles appeared on the surface of the nanotubes after annealing in an argon atmosphere. Furthermore, the results show that the carrier concentration of annealing at 400 °C is significantly higher than that of annealing at 300 °C, but the photocurrent response intensity is the opposite. This work will provide new inspirations for the modification and improvement of TiO 2 nanotube structures and the enhancement of their photoelectric properties.