TiO ₂ , Au@TiO ₂ and C-Au@TiO ₂ nanocomposites for enhanced photodegradation of commercial henna dye

Abstract Titanium dioxide (TiO 2 ) has been extensively researched in a variety of domains, such as catalysis, photocatalysis and antibacterial agents. It has been discovered that TiO 2 nanocomposite doped with gold are very effective in photo catalytically degrading organic pollutants. As a result, TiO 2 , Au@TiO 2 and C-Au@TiO 2 materials are an excellent choice for these applications. The crystal phase, particle size, and shape all effect the fascinating physical and chemical properties. TiO 2 . TiO 2 , Au@TiO 2 and C-Au@TiO 2 nanocomposites are prepared by co-precipitation method. XRD, FTIR, UV-DRS, FE-SEM and EDX studies are used to characterize these nanocomposite. Optical bandgap energy is reduced when carbon sphere and gold were loaded on to the TiO 2 nano semiconductor. Its morphological, optical, and electrical characteristics make the as prepared C-Au@TiO 2 will be the better choice in environmental applications. C-Au@TiO 2 has low band gap energy when compared to Au@TiO 2 and TiO 2. It is an excellent catalyst for photocatalytic degradation of commercial Henna dye which conatians Lawsone as the maor chemical compound which need to de degradaed in the environmental pollution caused by it. The proposed C-Au@TiO 2 catalyst degraded the commercial henna dye (Lawsone) with the good efficiency of 79 % in lesser time scale is reported for first time in this work.