Au/TiO 2 Reusable Photocatalysts for Dye Degradation

Abstract

Nanogold doped TiO 2 catalysts are synthesized, and their application in the photodegradation of dye pollutants is studied. The materials are characterized using different analytical techniques such as X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, UVvisible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The results revealed the strong interaction between the metallic gold nanoparticles and the anatase TiO 2 support. Au doped systems showed very good photoactivity in the degradation of dye pollutants under UV irradiation as well as in sunlight. A simple mechanism is proposed for explaining the excellent photoactivity of the systems. The reusability studies of the photocatalysts exhibited more than 98% degradation of the dye even after 10 repeated cycles