Application of Plasmonic Metal Nanoparticles in TiO(2)-SiO(2) Composite as an Efficient Solar-Activated Photocatalyst: A Review Paper

Over the last decade, interest in the utilization of solar energy for photocatalysis treatment processes has taken centre-stage. Researchers had focused on doping TiO(2) with SiO(2) to obtain an efficient degradation rate of various types of target pollutants both under UV and visible-light irradiation. In order to further improve this degradation effect, some researchers resorted to incorporate plasmonic metal nanoparticles such as silver and gold into the combined TiO(2)-SiO(2) to fully optimize the TiO(2)-SiO(2)’s potential in the visible-light region. This article focuses on the challenges in utilizing TiO(2) in the visible-light region, the contribution of SiO(2) in enhancing photocatalytic activities of the TiO(2)-SiO(2) photocatalyst, and the ability of plasmonic metal nanoparticles (Ag and Au) to edge the TiO(2)-SiO(2) photocatalyst toward an efficient solar photocatalyst.