Effect of chelating agents on the properties of TiO₂-SiO ₂ mixed oxide for photocatalytic water decomposition

High band-gap energy and large contribution of Ti-O-Si linkage were found on the catalyst synthesized with acetyl acetone as a chelating agent in a sol-gel process. Meanwhile, when acetic acid as a chelating agent was employed, it promoted the formation of TiO₂-SiO₂ mixed oxide with relatively high specific surface area and high photocurrent density. Low charge transfer resistance as well as wide space charge region in TiO ₂-SiO₂ particles prepared with acetic acid gave rise to high photocurrent density, which might result in the superior photocatalytic water decomposition for hydrogen production.