Improving TiO2 photoanodes through silver–polyoxotungstate nanohybrids: toward photovoltaic and photoelectrocatalytic application

In this work, a TiO2 photoanode was modified through Ag–POT (polyoxotungstate K6P2W18O62 abbr. as POT, silver–POT nanohybrids abbr. as Ag–POT) to improve the photovoltaic and photoelectrocatalytic performance. A facile in situ preparation of Ag nanoparticles was achieved by using POT as both a reductant and capping agent. Transient photocurrent and current–voltage curve measurements demonstrate that both the photocurrent response and power conversion efficiency of the Ag–POT/TiO2 film were markedly enhanced in comparison with that of the TiO2 only film and the POT/TiO2 film. Moreover, the Ag–POT/TiO2 film exhibited significant photoelectrocatalytic oxidation activity of dopamine. These results suggest their potential applications in photovoltaics as well as photoelectrocatalysis.