The Preparation of Au@TiO2 Yolk–Shell Nanostructure and its Applications for Degradation and Detection of Methylene Blue

• Published in: Nanoscale research letters Vol. 12; no. 1; pp. 1 - 535
• Main Authors: Wan, Gengping, Peng, Xiange, Zeng, Min, Yu, Lei, Wang, Kan, Li, Xinyue, Wang, Guizhen
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 18.09.2017; Springer Nature B.V; SpringerOpen
• Subjects: Atomic layer epitaxy; Atomic structure; Au@TiO2; Chemistry and Materials Science; Degradation; Gold; Materials Science; Methylene blue; Molecular Medicine; Nano Idea; Nanochemistry; Nanoparticles; Nanoscale Science and Technology; Nanotechnology; Nanotechnology and Microengineering; Nanotubes; Photocatalysis; Photocatalysts; Raman spectroscopy; SERS; Spectroscopy; Sputtering; Surface plasmon resonance; Titanium dioxide; Wavelengths; Yolk; Yolk–shell nanostructure; Yolk–shell nanostructure; Surface plasmon resonance; Au@TiO; SERS; Photocatalysis
• ISSN: 1931-7573; 1556-276X
• DOI: 10.1186/s11671-017-2313-4

This paper reports the synthesis of a new type of Au@TiO 2 yolk–shell nanostructures by integrating ion sputtering method with atomic layer deposition (ALD) technique and its applications as visible light-driven photocatalyst and surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) substrate. Both the size and amount of gold nanoparticles confined in TiO 2 nanotubes could be facilely controlled via properly adjusting the sputtering time. The unique structure and morphology of the resulting Au@TiO 2 samples were investigated by using various spectroscopic and microscopic techniques in detail. It is found that all tested samples can absorb visible light with a maximum absorption at localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) wavelengths (550–590 nm) which are determined by the size of gold nanoparticles. The Au@TiO 2 yolk–shell composites were used as the photocatalyst for the degradation of methylene blue (MB). As compared with pure TiO 2 nanotubes, Au@TiO 2 composites exhibit improved photocatalytic properties towards the degradation of MB. The SERS effect of Au@TiO 2 yolk–shell composites was also performed to investigate the detection sensitivity of MB.