TiO2 inverse opal structures with facile decoration of precious metal nanoparticles for enhanced photocatalytic activity

Abstract TiO2 inverse opal (IO) structures were fabricated by an infiltration method that were functionalized with gold, silver, and gold-silver core-shell metal nanoparticles. The photocatalytic activity of the TiO2 IO structures with metal nanoparticles was characterized by gas-phase conversion of acetylene into carbon dioxide. All metal nanoparticle functionalized structures showed an increase in photocatalytic activity via surface plasmon resonance coupling of the incident light. The highest photocatalytic activity was observed with gold-silver core-shell nanoparticle functionalized TiO2 IO structure (increase of 62% compared to reference TiO2 IO) followed by gold (53%) and silver (39%) nanoparticles.