Effect of Ag/rGO on the Optical Properties of Plasmon-Modified SnO2 Composite and Its Application in Self-Powered UV Photodetector

Abstract

A facile hydrothermal method was employed to synthesize silver–reduced graphene oxide (Ag/rGO) plasmon-modified SnO2 composite, by incorporating Ag–reduced graphene oxide (Ag/rGO) into SnO2 nanorods as a photoanode for assembling a self-powered ultraviolet photodetector (UVPD). The as-synthesized samples were investigated in detail by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Raman spectroscopy, and UV visible spectrophotometer. The as-prepared Ag/rGO films show enhanced light absorption attributed to the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR). The optimized 1.0 wt.% Ag/rGO incorporated into SnO2-based UVPD exhibits a significant photocurrent response due to the enhanced absorption light and effective suppression of charge recombination. This UVPD demonstrates a high performance, with photocurrent density reaching 0.29 mAcm−2 compared to the SnO2-based device with 0.16 mAcm−2. This device also exhibits a high on:off ratio of 195 and fast response time, which are superior to that of the free-modified one. In addition, the UVPD based on plasmon-modified SnO2 photoanode treated with TiCl4-aqueous solution has attained a higher photocurrent with a maximum value reaching 5.4 mAcm−2, making this device favorable in ultraviolet detection.