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A ternary Ag/TiO 2 /CNT photoanode was prepared by grafting Ag nanoparticles on the surface of as-synthesized TiO 2 /CNT nanocomposite for the photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting under visible light irradiance. The ternary composite photoanode was observed to generate four times higher photocurrent density compared to binary TiO 2 /CNT nanocomposite under visible light irradiance. The Ag nanoparticles on the surface of nanocomposite act as a surface plasmon resonance (SPR) photosensitizer under visible light. The enhanced photocurrent density of Ag/TiO 2 /CNT ternary photoanode is attributed to the increased light absorption in the visible region, decrease in band-bending and effective interfacial electron transfer due to the synergetic effect of Ag nanoparticles and CNTs. The enhanced charge transfer within the Ag/TiO 2 /CNT was also confirmed by the electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. This work demonstrates a feasible route to improve the PEC performance of TiO 2 towards water splitting under sunlight irradiation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polyaniline (PANI) coupled Zinc oxide (ZnO) nanocomposite has been synthesized by the chemisorption method and demonstrated its potential applications for photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue dye and photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting. A ∼7 fold enhancement in the photodegradation activity and ∼3 fold enhancement in the incident photon-to-electron conversion efficiency is observed for PANI/ZnO nanocomposite as compared to bare ZnO nanorods. The observed enhancement in the photocatalytic and photoelectrochemical activity is attributed to the photosensitization effect of visible light responsive PANI and the formation of type-II heterojunction between ZnO and PANI leading to the efficient separation and faster transfer of photoinduced charge carriers at the interface. A possible mechanism for the enhanced photocatalytic activity and photoelectrochemical water splitting for PANI/ZnO nanocomposite has been proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]