posted on 2025-06-06, 05:48authored byHiroyasu NISHI, Kouki HIRANO, Nozomi YAMAMOTO
Photoelectrodes based on plasmon-induced charge separation (PICS) often consist of Au nanoparticles (NPs) supported on an n-type semiconductor electrode and work as photoanodes. Meanwhile, there are fewer studies on plasmonic photocathodes fabricated by coating a plasmonic NP-modified electrode with the semiconductor. In the present study, plasmonic photocathodes in which Ag NPs electrodeposited on an indium tin oxide (ITO) electrode are covered with TiO2 (ITO/Ag/TiO2) were fabricated via a spray pyrolysis method. The photocathode exhibited efficient absorption and photocurrent responses derived from quadrupolar localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) mode. Since there are few studies on ITO/Ag/TiO2 photocathode and the quadrupole mode shows a smaller scattering/extinction ratio and longer lifetime than the dipolar mode, the insights obtained in the present study would lead to the design of highly efficient plasmonic photocathodes.
Funding
Establishment of new nanofabrication technology based on photoelectrochemical methods