Controlled Synthesis of Ag/TiO2 Nanotube Arrays Composites with Different Ag Loading and Their Enhanced Photoelectrochemical and Photocatalytic Performance

Ag/TiO2 nanotube arrays composites (Ag/TNTAs) with different Ag loading content were successfully fabricated by anodic oxidation combined with a simple chemical reduction. The obtained samples were characterized by field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and photoluminescence spectrum (PL), respectively. The results showed that Ag nanoparticles (NPs) were well dispersed on the surface of TNTAs with metallic state and the atomic percentage of Ag changed from 1.22 at% to 4.88 at%. The photoelectrochemical property and photocatalytic water splitting performance were systematically evaluated. Especially, Ag/TNTAs composites prepared by 2 wt% AgNO3 exhibited the excellent property. Furthermore, the methylene blue (MB) photodegradation experiment was also investigated.