Materials Research Bulletin, Vol.87, 40-47, 2017
Plasmon enhanced photocatalytic activity of Au@TiO2-graphene nanocomposite under visible light for degradation of pollutants
Au@TiO2-Graphene (GR) nanocomposite was prepared using photocatalytic reduction method. TiO2-GR nanocomposite was synthesized under UV irradiation of deaerated ethanolic suspension of TiO2. The nanocomposite was calcined at 400 degrees C followed by loading of highly dispersed Au nanoparticles throughout the deposition-precipitation method. The Au@TiO2/GR was characterized by X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, transmission electron microscope and the BET surface area measurements. It was found that Au-TiO2-GR and TiO2-GR nanoparticles have smaller crystalline size and higher surface area than pure TiO2. Presence of highly dispersed Au nanoparticles on the TiO2 structure and graphene as supporter caused absorption shift into the visible region. The incorporation of GR and Au into TiO2 significantly enhanced the electron transport and therefore impeded the charge recombination of excited TiO2. Evaluation of photocatalytic activity by degradation of Acid Blue 92 under the UV and visible light verified the superior photocatalytic performance of the Au@TiO2-GR nanocomposite. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.