Analysis of the factors controlling performances of Au-modified TiO2 nanotube array based photoanode in photo-electrocatalytic (PECa) cells

The efficiency of photo-electrocatalytic (PECa) devices for the production of solar fuels depends on several limiting factors such as light harvesting, charge recombination and mass transport diffusion. We analyse here how they influence the performances in PECa cells having a photo-anode based on Au-modified TiO2 nanotube (TNT) arrays, with the aim of developing design criteria to optimize the photo-anode and the PECa cell configuration for water photo-electrolysis (splitting) and ethanol photo-reforming processes. The TNT samples were prepared by controlled anodic oxidation of Ti foils and then decorated with gold nanoparticles using different techniques to enhance the visible light response through heterojunction and plasmonic effects. The activity tests were made in a gas-phase reactor, as well as in a PECa cell without applied bias. Results were analysed in terms of photo-generated current, H-2 production rate and photo conversion efficiency. Particularly, a solar-to-hydrogen efficiency of 0.83% and a Faradaic efficiency of 91% were obtained without adding sacrificial reagents. (C) 2016 Science Press and Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Published by Elsevier B.V. and Science Press. All rights reserved.