Electrophoretic Deposition of Gold Nanoparticles on Highly Ordered Titanium Dioxide Nanotubes for Photocatalytic Application

Abstract

This work focused on the photocatalytic performance enhancement of titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanotubes decorated by gold nanoparticles. The surface of the nanotubes synthesized using the anodization technique was modified with subsequent deposition of gold nanoparticles (Au-NPs) via electrophoretic deposition. The impact of electrophoretically deposited gold nanoparticles (Au-NPs) on TiO2 nanotubes, with varying deposition times (5 min, 8 min and 12 min), was investigated in the degradation of amido black (AB) dye. The morphological analysis using scanning electron microscopy (SEM, TESCAN VEGA3, TESCAN Orsay Holding, Brno, Czech Republic) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM, JEM—100CX2, JEOL Japan). revealed a well-organized nanotubular structure of TiO2, with a wall thickness of 25 nm and an internal diameter of 75 nm. Optical study, including photoluminescence and diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, provided evidence of charge transfer between the Au-NPs and the TiO2-NTs. Furthermore, the photocatalytic measurements showed that the enhanced photocatalytic activity of the TiO2-NTs resulted from successful Au deposition onto their surface, surpassing that of the pure sample. This improvement is attributed to the higher work function of gold nanoparticles, which effectively promoted the separation of photogenerated electron–hole pairs. The sample Au-NPs/TiO2-NTs with a deposition time of 5 min exhibited the best photocatalytic efficiency, achieving an 85% degradation rate after 270 min under UV irradiation. Moreover, the enhancement obtained was also attributed to the plasmonic effect induced by Au-NPs. Kinetic investigations revealed that the photocatalytic reaction followed apparent first-order kinetics, highlighting the efficiency of Au-NPs/TiO2-NTs as a photocatalyst for dye degradation.