"Suspended" Pt nanoparticles over TiO₂ nanotubes for enhanced photocatalytic H₂ evolution

In the present work we introduce a technique to form a photocatalyst based on Pt nanoparticles suspended over the mouth of anodic TiO2 nanotubes. These structures are obtained by decorating the top end of highly ordered TiO2 nanotubes with a web of TiO2 nanofibrils, followed by sputter deposition of a minimum amount of Pt. A subsequent thermal dewetting step forms 3-6 nm-sized Pt nanoparticles along the nanofibrils. These structures, when compared to conventional Pt decoration techniques of TiO2 nanotubes, show strongly enhanced photocatalytic H2 evolution efficiency.