Mesoporous TiO2 thin films embedded with Au nanoparticles for the enhancement of the photocatalytic properties

Mesoporous TiO2 thin films were prepared by hydrothermal-oxidation of titanium metal thin films, which were obtained by DC magnetron sputtering technique. Gold nanoparticles, which were prepared by reduction of HAuCl4,were embedded into the holes of the mesoporous TiO2 films by capillary method followed by annealing in air up to 400 degrees C. The size of pore of TiO2 films is about 100 nm and that of Au nanoparticles is about 10 nm in average. The morphology of the films was analyzed by field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM) and scanning probe microscopes (SPMs). Subsequently, the photocatalytic performances of the obtained nanosystems in the decomposition of methylene blue solution are discussed. The obtained results show that the dispersion of Au nanoparticles on the mesoporous TiO2 matrix will help enhancing the photocatalytic activity with respect to pure TiO2 under visible light irradiation. (c) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.