Novel Au NPs/Preyssler acid/TiO2 nanocomposite for the photocatalytic removal of azo dye

In this study, we introduced a novel nanocomposite consisting of Au nanoparticles decorated TiO2 and Preyssler acid as a multifunctional photocatalyst linker molecule, in which gold ions reduced locally on the TiO2 surface. The obtained nanocomposite has been characterized using Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR), X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Electron Dispersive X-ray (EDX) Spectroscopy, Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). Also, their photocatalytic activity has been studied for the degradation of model organic azo dye Malachite Green under UV light irradiation. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.