Effects of accumulated electrons on the decay kinetics of photogenerated electrons in Pt/TiO2 photocatalyst studied by time-resolved infrared absorption spectroscopy

The effects of accumulated electrons on the decay kinetics of photogenerated electrons in Pt/TiO2 photocatalyst were examined using time-resolved infrared (TR-IR) absorption spectroscopy. When the catalyst was irradiated by a UV pulse in the presence of methanol gas, the lifetime of the electrons was drastically elongated through the effective hole-consuming reaction by the adsorbed methoxy groups. When the catalyst was further irradiated by a second UV pulse in the presence of these long-lived electrons, the number of electrons generated by the second pulse was smaller than that generated by the first pulse though these pulse energies were the same. By increasing the interval between these two pulses, the number of electrons generated by the second pulse was gradually restored to equal that generated by the first pulse. These changes were ascribed to the enhancement of the rate of electron–hole recombination due to the long-lived electrons.