Physicochemical and photocatalytic characterizations of TiO2/Pt nanocomposites

Spherical and uniform Pt nanoparticles with sizes of 2-6nm have been formed on TiO2 nanoparticles and nanowires by microwave irradiation and exhibited very high photocatalytic activity in the decomposition of methyl orange. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis revealed that the TiO2/Pt Composites contained mostly Pt(O), with traces of Pt(11) and Pt(IV). These results indicate that nanoparticles of platinum were formed on the surface of TiO2 nanoparticles and nanowire. X-ray diffraction (XRD) showed that TiO2/Pt composites only displayed the characteristic diffraction peaks of a TiO2 anatase structure. TiO2/Pt Composites exhibited very high photocatalytic activities in the decomposition of methyl orange. (c) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.