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Iron–Titanium Oxide Nanocomposites Functionalized with Gold Particles: From Design to Solar Hydrogen Production
Author(s) -
Barreca Davide,
Carraro Giorgio,
Gasparotto Alberto,
Maccato Chiara,
Warwick Michael E. A.,
Toniato Elisa,
Gombac Valentina,
Sada Cinzia,
Turner Stuart,
Van Tendeloo Gustaaf,
Fornasiero Paolo
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
advanced materials interfaces
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.671
H-Index - 65
ISSN - 2196-7350
DOI - 10.1002/admi.201600348
Subject(s) - materials science , tin oxide , nanocomposite , sputtering , photocatalysis , chemical engineering , hydrogen production , titanium , hematite , tin , titanium oxide , nanotechnology , oxide , hydrogen , thin film , metallurgy , catalysis , biochemistry , chemistry , organic chemistry , engineering
Hematite –titania nanocomposites, eventually functionalized with gold nanoparticles (NPs), are designed and developed by a plasma‐assisted strategy, consisting in: (i) the plasma enhanced‐chemical vapor deposition of α‐Fe 2 O 3 on fluorine‐doped tin oxide substrates; the radio frequency‐sputtering of (ii) TiO 2 , and (iii) Au in controlled amounts. A detailed chemicophysical characterization, carried out through a multitechnique approach, reveals that the target materials are composed by interwoven α‐Fe 2 O 3 dendritic structures, possessing a high porosity and active area. TiO 2 introduction results in the formation of an ultrathin titania layer uniformly covering Fe 2 O 3 , whereas Au sputtering yields a homogeneous dispersion of low‐sized gold NPs. Due to the intimate and tailored interaction between the single constituents and their optical properties, the resulting composite materials are successfully exploited for solar‐driven applications. In particular, promising photocatalytic performances in H 2 production by reforming of water–ethanol solutions under simulated solar illumination are obtained. The related insights, presented and discussed in this work, can yield useful guidelines to boost the performances of nanostructured photocatalysts for energy‐related applications.