Plasmon-Enhanced Photoelectrochemical Current and Hydrogen Production of (MoS2-TiO2)/Au Hybrids

Abstract

Three component hybrid (MoS₂-TiO₂)/Au substrate is fabricated by loading plasmonic Au nanorods on the MoS₂ nanosheets coated TiO₂ nanorod arrays. It is used for photoelectrochemical (PEC) cell and photocatalyst for hydrogen generation. Owing to the charge transfer between the MoS₂-TiO₂ hetero-structure, the PEC current density and hydrogen generation of TiO₂ nanoarrays are enhanced 2.8 and 2.6 times. The broadband photochemical properties are further enhanced after Au nanorods loading. The plasmon resonance of Au nanorods provides more effective light-harvesting, induces hot-electron injection, and accelerates photo-excited charges separation. The results have suggested a route to construct nanohybrid by combining one-dimensional arrays and two-dimensional nanosheets, meanwhile have successfully utilized plasmonic nanorods as a sensitizer to improve the photochemical properties of the semiconductor nanocomposite.