Plasmonic enhancement of visible-light water splitting with Au-TiO2 composite aerogels.

We demonstrate plasmonic enhancement of visible-light-driven splitting of water at three-dimensionally (3D) networked gold-titania (Au-TiO2) aerogels. The sol-gel-derived ultraporous composite nanoarchitecture, which contains 1 to 8.5 wt% Au nanoparticles and titania in the anatase form, retains the high surface area and mesoporosity of unmodified TiO2 aerogels and maintains stable dispersion of the ~5 nm Au guests.