Platinum-Decorated TiO2: One Step Fast Monometallic Impregnation and Plasma Effect on Nanoparticles

Abstract

In the present work, N-TiO2−x/Pt was synthesized using a homemade nitrogen plasma (AC) discharge system. The overall procedure use of low-power nitrogen plasma (100 watts) with 1 and 2 h of plasma discharge to successfully impregnate platinum nanoparticles on P25 titanium dioxide. The obtained samples were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV–Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). The results reveal the incorporation of metallic Pt up to 2.9% on the surface of TiO2 by increasing the duration of plasma discharge by up to two hours with a constant power of 100 watts. Likewise, the incorporation of nitrogen atoms into a lattice crystal was also favored, confirming a direct relationship between the amount of Pt and nitrogen atoms introduced in TiO2 as a function of the duration of plasma treatment. By characterizing nanoparticles loaded on a N-TiO2−x/Pt surface, we show that joined platinum nanoparticles have two different patterns, and the boundary between these two regions coalesces. The results demonstrate that the use of nitrogen plasma to impregnate platinum nanoparticles on the surface of TiO2 to obtain N-TiO2−x/Pt allows wide and relevant physics and chemistry applications.