Bioinspired Au/TiO2 photocatalyst derived from butterfly wing (Papilio Paris)

The reticular hierarchical structure of butterfly wings (Papilio Paris) is introduced as template for Au/TiO2 photocatalyst by depositing the Au nanoparticles on TiO2 matrix, which is carried out by a water-ethanol sol-gel procedure combined with subsequent calcination. The obtained Au/TiO2 nanocomposites present the reticular hierarchical structure of butterfly wings, and Au nanoparticles with an average size of 7 nm are homogeneously dispersed in TiO2 substrate. Benefiting from such unique reticular hierarchical structure and composition, the biomorphic Au/TiO2 exhibits high-harvesting capability and presents superior photocatalytic activity. Especially, the biomorphic Au/TiO2 at the nominal content of gold to titanium of 8 wt% shows the highest photocatalytic activity and can completely decompose methyl orange within 80 min, which is obviously higher than that of commercial Degussa P25 powders. (C) 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

以蝴蝶翅膀（巴黎翠凤蝶）的网状分级结构为模板，通过水 - 乙醇溶胶 - 凝胶法结合后续煅烧，将金纳米粒子沉积在二氧化钛基体上，制备了Au/TiO₂光催化剂。所获得的Au/TiO₂纳米复合材料呈现出蝴蝶翅膀的网状分级结构，平均粒径为7nm的金纳米粒子均匀地分散在TiO₂基底中。得益于这种独特的网状分级结构和组成，生物形态的Au/TiO₂具有高的光捕获能力，并表现出优异的光催化活性。特别是，金与钛的标称含量为8 wt%的生物形态Au/TiO₂显示出最高的光催化活性，能够在80分钟内完全分解甲基橙，这明显高于商业的德固赛P25粉末。（C）2011爱思唯尔公司。保留所有权利。