Here, using the (Au/TiO2)-catalyzed reduction of 4-nitrothiophenol as a probe reaction, a catalysis/SERS bifunctional composite fabricated by uniformly dispersing catalysis-active Au nanoclusters (∼2 nm) on a SERS-active TiO2 photonic microarray was successfully applied to the non-plasmonic SERS self-monitoring of a catalytic reaction for the first time, which is superiorly sensitive and interf...

Au-TiO2 nanocomposites were prepared by chemical deposition of gold nanoparticles onto TiO2 nanocolloids that were synthesized by a hydrothermal method. Transmission electron microscopic measurements showed that the TiO2 colloids exhibited an average diameter of about 5 nm and clearly defined lattice fringes that were consistent with those of anatase TiO2 and formed rather large agglomerates th...

Supported gold nanoparticles on titania have been prepared using the deposition-precipitation method at several pH levels. The effects of pH on gold loading, particle size and particle size distribution are studied, both below and above the isoelectric point of TiO2. The effects of adjusting the pH before and after the addition of the support to gold chloride solution are also investigated. Gol...

We have examined the adsorption behaviors of carbon monoxide (CO) molecule on TiO2 anatase supported Au overlayers. The results of density functional theory (DFT) calculations were used in order to gain insights into the effects of the adsorption of CO molecules on the considered hybrid nanostructures. We have investigated different adsorption geometries of CO over the nanoparticles....

Glutathione (GSH) is vital for several functions of our human body such as neutralization of free radicals and reactive oxygen compounds, maintaining the active forms of vitamin C and E, regulation of nitric oxide cycle, iron metabolism, etc. It is also an endogenous antioxidant in most of the biological reactions. Given the importance of GSH, a simple strategy is proposed in this work to devel...

Hydrogen-etching technology was used to prepare TiO2−x nanoribbons with abundant stable surface oxygen vacancies. Compared with traditional Au-TiO2, gold supported on hydrogen-etched TiO2−x nanoribbons had been proven to be efficient and stable water–gas shift (WGS) catalysts. The disorder layer and abundant stable surface oxygen vacancies of hydrogen-etched TiO2−x nanoribbons lead to higher mi...

Through an interplay between scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and density functional theory (DFT) calculations, we show that bridging oxygen vacancies are the active nucleation sites for Au clusters on the rutile TiO2(110) surface. We find that a direct correlation exists between a decrease in density of vacancies and the amount of Au deposited. From the DFT calculations we find that the oxy...

Pristine TiO2/Au (P-TiO2/Au) is modified by hydrogen plasma (H-TiO2/Au) or and oxygen (H-O-TiO2/Au) treatment, then used as electrochemical catalysts for nitrogen reduction reaction (NRR). H-TiO2/Au shows enhanced performance the NRR process compared with both P-TiO2/Au H-O-TiO2/Au. After hydrogenation some disordered regions on surface of TiO2 nanoparticles are formed, a large number vacancies...

Electronic metal-support interactions (EMSI) are demonstrated to severely affect the CO oxidation activity and the CO adsorption properties of Au/TiO2 catalysts. Bulk oxygen vacancies, generated by a strongly reductive pre-treatment of Au/TiO2 at elevated temperature in 10% CO/N2, significantly lower the catalytic activity for CO oxidation at 80°C. With time on stream, the activity slowly incre...