posted on 2025-06-06, 05:48authored byHiroyasu NISHI, Kouki HIRANO, Nozomi YAMAMOTO
<div>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 TiO<sub>2</sub> (ITO/Ag/TiO<sub>2</sub>) 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/TiO<sub>2</sub> 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.</div>
Funding
Establishment of new nanofabrication technology based on photoelectrochemical methods