Table of contents entryBack-scattered electron image and secondary electron image of a scraped Ag 50nm/N-TiO 2 nanofilm after the heat treatment at 400 o C. Dependence of the degradation rate of the TiO 2 -based nanofilms on the number of cycles for the photodegradation of MB. The degradation rate of the TiO 2 -based nanofilms decreases with the number of cycles. AbstractUsing magnetron sputtering, pure TiO 2 nanofilms and Ag/TiO 2 bilayer nanofilms with N were deposited on glass substrates. Heat-treatment of the Ag/N-TiO 2 nanofilms at 400 o C led to the formation of Ag nanoparticles, which were dispersed inside the TiO 2 films as well as on the free surface of the TiO 2 films. The photocatalytic activity of the Ag/N-TiO 2 nanofilms with the dispersion of Ag nanoparticles was examined by UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy.The rate constants for the photodegradation of methylene blue (MB) in the aqueous solutions of MB with N-TiO 2 -based nanofilms are about one order larger than that of self-degradation and that with only pure TiO 2 nanofilms. The rate constants for the photodegradation of the aqueous solutions of MB with the Ag/N-TiO 2 nanofilms are larger than that with the N-TiO 2 nanofilms. The Ag nanoparticles improve the photocatalytic activity of TiO 2 films possibly through the surface plasmon absorption effect of Ag nanoparticles which activates photo-generated charge carriers through the transfer of plasmonic energy. 9 Ti(IV) state. For the pure TiO 2 nanofilms, the peaks in the Ti 2p spectrum associated with the binding energies of Ti 2p 3/2 and Ti 2p 1/2 levels are at 457.8 and 463.5 eV 35 , slightly less than the corresponding binding energies of the Ag/N-TiO 2 nanofilms, suggesting the presence of Ti(IV) state. This result confirms a lower electron density of the TiO 2 surface with the presence of Ag nanoparticles. There is a strong interaction between metallic Ag nanoparticles and TiO 2 in the Ag/TiO 2 nanofilms. SEM and EDS analysesBack-scattered electron (BSE) imaging was performed to identify the phases presented in the Ag/N-TiO 2 nanofilms. Figure 3 shows the BSE images, secondary electron (SEM) images, and the corresponding EDS spectrum of the Ag/N-TiO 2 nanofilms. The EDS patterns, as shown in Figure 3, display the peaks of Ti, O, Ag and N, confirming the presence of Ag and N elements in all the Ag/N-TiO 2 nanofilms.

Engineering anion vacancy catalysts have exhibited speedy activity in the field of electrocatalysis due to their tunable electronic structure and moderate free energy of adsorbed intermediates. Herein, we have demonstrated...

No abstract