TiO₂-Au composite for efficient UV photocatalytic reduction of Cr(VI)

TiO₂ at the nanoscale perform well in the UV photocatalytic application depending on the particle size; a combination of TiO₂ and Au may improve the situation. TiO₂-Au composites are thus synthesized and examined in the UV photocatalytic reduction of Cr(VI). Results show that the photocatalytic efficiency of TiO₂-Au reaches 91% in Cr(VI) reduction compared with the pure TiO₂ (83%) under UV light irradiation. The increased light absorption intensity in a broader spectral range as well as the rate of electron-hole pair recombination in TiO₂ with the addition of Au shall be responsible for the enhanced photocatalytic ability of the composite.