Construction of AgBr nano-cakes decorated Ti3+ self-doped TiO2 nanorods/nanosheets photoelectrode and its enhanced visible light driven photocatalytic and photoelectrochemical properties.

In the study, AgBr nano-cakes decorated Ti 3+ self-doped TiO 2 nanorods/nanosheets (AgBr-Ti 3+ /TiO 2 NRs/NSs) photoelectrode with enhanced visible light driven photocatalytic (PC) and photoelectrochemical (PECH) performance has been successfully fabricated by hydrothermal reaction, followed by sodium borohydride reduction and then successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) treatment. Afterwards, series of characterizations were conducted to study the physicochemical properties of AgBr-Ti 3+ /TiO 2 NRs/NSs photoelectrode. Results indicated that AgBr nano-cakes with sizes varying from 110 to 180 nm were uniformly decorated on the surface of Ti 3+ /TiO 2 NRs/NSs to form AgBr-Ti 3+ /TiO 2 NRs/NSs photoelectrode. Moreover, PC activity of AgBr-Ti 3+ /TiO 2 NRs/NSs photoelectrode was measured by degradation of methylene blue (MB). It was found that AgBr-Ti 3+ /TiO 2 NRs/NSs photoelectrode exhibited higher PC activity (98.7%) than that of other samples within 150 min visible light illumination, owing to the enhancement of visible light harvesting and effective separation of photoproduced charges. Thus, AgBr nano-cakes and Ti 3+ exerted a huge influence on the PC and PECH properties of AgBr-Ti 3+ /TiO 2 NRs/NSs photoelectrode. Furthermore, the possible enhanced visible light driven PC mechanism of AgBr-Ti 3+ /TiO 2 NRs/NSs was proposed and confirmed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]