UV photocatalytic reduction of methylene blue by nano Au/TiO₂ composites

Nano Au/TiO₂ composites were synthesized by sol-gel method with Au nanorods. Methyl blue solution was photocatalytically reduced using the prepared composites. The results showed that the photocatalytic efficiency of Au/TiO₂ reached 99.6%, which was 1.3 times that of pure TiO₂, under UV light irradiation. The enhanced photocatalysis was attributed to that the addition of Au at the nanoscale can improve the photocatalytic ability of TiO₂ with increased light absorption intensity and reduction of charge recombination rate.