Well-aligned Au/TiO2 Nanorods Arrays for the Photodegradation of MB by Magnetron Sputtering

The growth of well-aligned Au/TiO2 nanorods arrays was performed by magnetron sputtering. The feasibility of preparing Au/TiO2 nanorods was demonstrated via dc reactive magnetron sputtering at room temperature and heat-treatment at 500 degrees C in air for 2 h. The results show that the heat treatment leads to the formation of Au/TiO2 nanorods with Au nanoparticles embedded in the TiO2 nanorods of anatase phase. These Au/TiO2 nanorods show lower photoluminescence emission intensity and higher absorption and intensive response to the visible light, compared with traditional TiO2 nanofilms fabricated by the traditional method. The Au nanoparticles in the TiO2 nanorods suppress the charge recombination.