Fabrication of Anisotropic Silver Nanoplatelets onthe Surface of TiO 2 Fibers for Enhanced Photocatalysisof a Chemical Warfare Agent Simulant, Methyl Paraoxon

Among the world’s most deadly toxins are a class of organophosphates that are used as chemical warfare agents (CWAs). It is imperative to continue to develop novel means for mitigation and protection against these chemical threats. Sensitizing the surface of metal oxide semiconductors with plasmonic nanoparticles for photocatalytic degradation of chemical threats has been a prominent area of research in recent years. Anisotropic silver nanoplateles were purposefully grown on the surface of TiO2 fibers, in order to determine the impact of silver nanoparticle shape on (1) the generation of hot electrons by the silver, (2) the subsequent transfer of those electrons from the silver into the TiO2, and (3) the photocatalytic behavior of the Ag–TiO2 composite. To elucidate the charge injection properties of the composites, transient absorption experiments (pump–probe experiments) were undertaken. These involved pumping the composite samples with a range of discrete visible wavelengths and probing the composite w...