Effects of adsorbed water on plasmon-based dissolution, redeposition and resulting spectral changes of Ag nanoparticles on single-crystalline TiO2

Ag nanoparticles photocatalytically deposited on single-crystalline TiO(2)(111) and (100) surfaces exhibit visible light-induced topographic and spectral changes corresponding to the light wavelength. A certain amount of adsorbed water on the surface is essential for the changes. The photoinduced behaviors strongly depend on the amount of the adsorbed water and on interparticle spacing, indicating that ionic conductivity on the TiO(2) surface is a key factor. The results obtained here are rationally explained in terms of a photoelectrochemical mechanism in which photoanodic dissolution of Ag nanoparticles to Ag(+) and cathodic re-deposition of Ag play essential roles.