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Effect of Au content on the enhanced photocatalytic efficiency of mesoporous Au/TiO2 nanocomposites in UV and sunlight

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Abstract

Detoxification of harmful dyes through nonconventional catalytic processes is getting thrust in light of environmental remediation. Current work reveals synthesis of gold–titania (Au/TiO2) mesoporous nanostructure and its enhanced photocatalytic performance for degradation of alizarin dye. Optically, Au/TiO2 shows a characteristic surface plasmonic absorption band at 520 nm, whereas X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern reveals the anatase phase of TiO2 with fcc unit cell structure and tetragonal geometry. X-ray photon spectroscopy depicts (Au 4f 7/2 at 84.0 and Au 4f 5/2 at 87.7 eV) the elemental state of gold (Au0). Specific surface area was witnessed to decrease with increase of Au content (169, 141, 130, and 119 m2/g for 1, 2, 3, and 4 wt%, respectively). The mesoporous Au/TiO2 nanocomposite showed higher catalytic performance in comparison to commercial nano-TiO2 (P25), which is credited to better charge delocalization at metal semiconductor interface. The reusability studies of the photocatalyst exhibited more than 98% degradation of the dye even after 10 consecutive cycles.

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Acknowledgements

Authors are thankful to DST (Grant No. SB/FT/CS-178/2013), New Delhi, for financial assistance.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Thapar University, Patiala, 147 004, India

    Akansha Mehta, Ashish Kumar & Soumen Basu

  2. Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, New Delhi, 110016, India

    Manu Sharma

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  1. Akansha Mehta
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  2. Manu Sharma
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  3. Ashish Kumar
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Correspondence to Ashish Kumar or Soumen Basu.

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Mehta, A., Sharma, M., Kumar, A. et al. Effect of Au content on the enhanced photocatalytic efficiency of mesoporous Au/TiO2 nanocomposites in UV and sunlight. Gold Bull 50, 33–41 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13404-016-0191-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13404-016-0191-7

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