Plasmonically Enhanced Hydrogen Evolution with an Al–TiO2-Based Photoelectrode

Photoelectrochemical water splitting, as a method for producing clean hydrogen, could benefit from both plasmon-enhanced processes and the incorporation of earth-abundant materials in photoelectrode design. Here we report a n-TiO2/aluminum (Al) nanodisk/p-GaN photoelectrode sandwich device that exhibits enhanced H2 generation efficiencies due to a combination of plasmon-enhanced processes. Hot electrons generated in the illuminated Al nanodisk are injected into the conduction band of the TiO2 layer, subsequently transferring into water molecules adsorbed on the TiO2 surface, driving H2 evolution. The photocurrent densities we observe are nearly an order of magnitude higher than in an equivalent device with the Al nanodisk replaced with a Au nanodisk of the same size and are on par or better than previous reports of plasmonic photoelectrodes using Au nanoparticles in combination with cocatalyst species.