Synthesis and photocatalytic efficiency of plasmonic Ag/TiO2:S nanosystems

Metal/semiconductor nanoparticles have been fabricated with a simple, inexpensive, and efficient laser-assisted photoreduction. Wherein the silver nanoparticles were photo deposed directly on the commercial P25 and S-doped titanium dioxide nanoparticles during the synthesis. The Ag-modified TiO2:S nanoparticles showed enhanced absorption capacity in the visible spectral range compared to Ag-TiO2 nanoparticles. Moreover Ag/TiO2:S nanoparticles showed stronger photocatalytic activity which are manifested in the oxidation and decomposition of the Rhodamine 6G organic dye under the visible light irradiation. Such a high photocatalytic activity of the Ag-TiO2:S nanoparticles is attributed to the Ag nanoparticles-localized surface plasmon resonance and enhanced electron-hole separation on the catalysts surface. The efficiency of using plasmon metal-semiconductor nanostructures in dentistry for teeth whitening by visible range radiation is considered.