PANI-Sensitized N-TiO₂Inverse Opals with Enhanced Photoelectrochemical Performance and Photocatalytic Activity

Abstract

In this study, a facile strategy for preparing three-dimensionally nitrogen doped-titanium oxide (N-TiO2) with inverse opal structure has been developed. Polyaniline (PANI) was applied to sensitize the as-prepared N-TiO2 inverse opal structure. UV-Vis diffuser reflectance spectrum indicates that PANI-sensitized N-TiO2 inverse opals exhibit excellent visible light absorption ability. The inverse opal is known to improve the light scattering and increase the path traveled by the light in the electrode. Thus the corresponding photocurrent density and photocatalytic efficiency of PANI-sensitized N-TiO2 inverse opals prepared at the optimized condition showed highly enhanced values by 10.6 and 2.88 times compared with the nanoparticle TiO2. It is a valuable method to generate clean energy.