Enhanced photoelectrochemical characteristic of TiO₂ nanotubes via surface plasma treatment

Photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting is one of promising green method to generated renewable energy such as hydrogen. To realize PEC for hydrogen production, it is indispensable to develop a high-performance photocatalyst. In this study, a facile surface engineering using plasma treatment is developed for TiO₂ nanotubes where the surface becomes porous and partially amorphized resulting in the enhanced photocatalytic activity. Moreover, electronic configuration of TiO₂ nanotubes were effectively modulated via ion plasma treatment, which improves charge transport and light-absorption in TiO₂ nanotubes. Electronic modulations in combination with the intriguing nanoporous structure after ion plasma treatment leads to significantly enhanced photocatalytic activity of TiO₂ nanotubes, which can be applied for designing next high-performance photocatalysts.