TiO2 Bowl-Like Nanocavity With Inner Au Embedded for Visible-Light Photocatalysis

In this work, we developed a novel method to synthesize Au nanoparticles (NPs) and a TiO2 nanocomposite catalyst with Au NPs embedded individually within the inner surface of a TiO2 bowl-like nanostructure (nanobowl) for the first time (denoted as Au@@TiO2). This unique TiO2 nanobowl shell can serve as a stable support for inner Au centers, and the resulting Au@@TiO2 shows markedly improved catalytic activity in the visible-light degradation of methylene blue (MB) compared with Au-embedded TiO2 Hollow Spheres (HSs) and Au-deposited commercial P25 (denoted as Au@TiO2 and Au-P25, respectively). Our well-established nanobowl provides a new strategy and pathway for the synthesis of high-performance nanocomposite catalysts.