Preparation of Au/TiO2 film and its photocatalytic performance for oxidation of p-nitrophenol

The Au-doped TiO2 thin film was prepared by the sol-gel method and characterized with atomic force microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, thermogravimetry, differential scanning calorimetry, and X-ray diffraction. The results showed that there were Ti, O, Au, and C elements in the Au/TiO2 film, and the Au existed in a metallic state. The Au/TiO2 film surface became more coarse, the grain size grew gradually, and the photocatalytic activity decreased with the increase in the calcination temperature. Compared with the pure TiO2 film, the photocatalytic activity of Au/TiO2 thin film improved. The Au/TiO2 film calcined at 673 K showed a higher photocatalytic activity, and the degradation rate of p-nitrophenol was 51.4% after 1 h reaction.