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Enhancement In The Photocatalytic Activity Of Au@Tio2 Nanocomposites By Pretreatment Of Tio2 With Uv Light, Mohammad Mansoob Khan Dr, M. H. Cho Dr

Dr. Mohammad Mansoob Khan

A novel, efficient and controlled protocol for the synthesis and enhanced photocatalytic activity of Au@TiO2 nanocomposite is developed. TiO2 (P25) was pretreated by employing UV light (λ = 254 nm) and the pretreated TiO2 was uniformly decorated by gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) in presence of sodium citrate and UV light. UV pretreatment makes the TiO2 activated, as electrons were accumulated within the TiO2 in the conduction band. These accumulated electrons facilitate the formation of AuNPs which were of very small size (2-5 nm), similar morphology and uniformly deposited at TiO2 surface. It leads to formation of stable and crystalline Au@TiO2 nanocomposites. …