Preparation, characterization and photocatalytic activities of Ag-deposited porous TiO2 sheets

Porous TiO2 sheets obtained by aqueous tape casting were modified with Ag deposition. The results showed that Ag-deposited TiO2 sheets had better photocatalytic activity than the pure TiO2 sheets, the optimum deposition time was found to be 2 min and the corresponding Ag loading was 1.48 mg/cm(2) TiO2 sheet. The valid mechanism of the enhancement for the photocatalytic activities was attributed to the interaction between the Ag particles and the TiO2 sheet, which made Ag particles act as electron traps to efficiently separate the photogenerated electron-hole pairs. From an application point of view, this process shows a high practical interest. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.