Studies on Photocatalytic Degradation for Organic Pollutants by TiO2/Au Composite and its Antibacterial Properties

TiO 2 /Au had been prepared readily from tetrabutyl titanate and chloroauric acid by in situ solvothermal method. SEM, XRD, UV-vis, FTIR, etc were used for characterizing the morphology, crystal structure, and optical performance of TiO 2 and TiO 2 /Au. The photocatalytic degradation performance on methyl orange and antibacterial properties against Escherichia coli of TiO 2 and TiO 2 /Au were studied. The results showed that the TiO 2 /Au both possessed superior photocatalytic properties under simulated or nature sunlight. The photocatalytic degradation rate of TiO 2 /Au on methyl orange was up to 91.57% that was obviously better than TiO 2 (65.13%). Moreover, TiO 2 and TiO 2 /Au had significant antibacterial properties against Escherichia coli , and the inhibition rate was up to 99.89%. The activity of TiO 2 and TiO 2 /Au was tested by ESR and H 2 -TPR for analyzing the mechanism of the improvement of the photocatalytic activity and antibacterial properties.