Sonochemical synthesis of Au-TiO2 nanoparticles for the sonophotocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants in aqueous environment

Abstract

Au-TiO2 photocatalysts were sonochemically prepared by three different procedures and their photocatalytic and sonophotocatalytic efficiencies were evaluated by studying the degradation of a representative organic pollutant, nonylphenol ethoxylate (NPE) surfactant in aqueous solutions. In the first procedure, Au-TiO2 nanoparticles were prepared by depositing sonochemically synthesized gold nanoparticles on Degussa P25 TiO2 by stirring in the absence of an ultrasonic field. In the second procedure, Au nanoparticles were sonochemically synthesized and simultaneously deposited on Degussa P25 TiO2 particles. In the third procedure, Au-TiO2 nanoparticles were sonochemically synthesized by the sim..