Green photodeposition of Au/TiO2 nanocomposites for wide-range photocatalytic degradation of pharmaceuticals
6 affiliations
- 1Universidade de Vigo, Departamento de Química Inorgánica 36310 Vigo Spain
- 2Physics Centre of Minho and Porto Universities (CF-UM-UP) and LaPMET – Laboratory of Physics for Materials and Emergent Technologies, University of Minho 4710-057 Braga Portugal
- 3BCMaterials, Basque Centre for Materials, Applications and Nanostructures UPV/EHU Science Park 48940 Leioa Spain
- 4IKERBASQUE, Basque Foundation for Science 48009 Bilbao Spain
- 5Centre of Molecular and Environmental Biology (CBMA), University of Minho 4710-057 Braga Portugal
- 6Institute for Research and Innovation on Bio-Sustainability (IB-S), University of Minho 4710-057 Braga Portugal
Abstract
Modifying photocatalytic materials by depositing noble metal nanoparticles is an effective strategy to enhance solar energy conversion. This study developed a UV-driven, one-pot photodeposition method to synthesise Au/TiO2 nanocomposites without chemical reducing agents. The influence of gold loading on physicochemical and photocatalytic properties was investigated. Structural, morphological, and optical analyses confirmed successful Au deposition without altering the TiO2 crystalline structure and also revealed improved colloidal stability and visible-light absorption due to Au surface plasmon resonance. The nanocomposites showed significant generation of reactive oxygen species under UV irradiation, with consistent hydroxyl radical production and increasing singlet oxygen formation at higher gold content. Photocatalytic performance was evaluated by degrading ciprofloxacin, chloroquine phosphate, diclofenac sodium, paracetamol, and fluconazole under UV light and simulated sunlight. A gold loading of 0.5 wt% achieved the highest efficiency, with up to 90% degradation of ciprofloxacin under both irradiation sources. Degradation of other pharmaceuticals ranged from 84% (chloroquine phosphate) to 45% (diclofenac sodium), depending on molecular structure and affinity for the catalyst. This work presents a simple and reproducible UV-driven approach to fabricating Au/TiO2 nanocomposites for the photocatalytic degradation of pharmaceutical pollutants.
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BibTeX
@article{gonzalezballesteros2026green,
title = {{Green photodeposition of Au/TiO2 nanocomposites for wide-range photocatalytic degradation of pharmaceuticals}},
author = {Noelia González-Ballesteros and Inês Espada and Carlos J. Tavares and Senentxu Lanceros-Méndez and Pedro M. Martins},
journal = {RSC advances},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1039/d6ra06617h},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13664701},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Green photodeposition of Au/TiO2 nanocomposites for wide-range photocatalytic degradation of pharmaceuticals
AU - Noelia González-Ballesteros
AU - Inês Espada
AU - Carlos J. Tavares
AU - Senentxu Lanceros-Méndez
AU - Pedro M. Martins
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/14
JO - RSC advances
DO - 10.1039/d6ra06617h
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13664701
AB - Modifying photocatalytic materials by depositing noble metal nanoparticles is an effective strategy to enhance solar energy conversion. This study developed a UV-driven, one-pot photodeposition method to synthesise Au/TiO2 nanocomposites without chemical reducing agents. The influence of gold loading on physicochemical and photocatalytic properties was investigated. Structural, morphological, and optical analyses confirmed successful Au deposition without altering the TiO2 crystalline structure and also revealed improved colloidal stability and visible-light absorption due to Au surface plasmon resonance. The nanocomposites showed significant generation of reactive oxygen species under UV irradiation, with consistent hydroxyl radical production and increasing singlet oxygen formation at higher gold content. Photocatalytic performance was evaluated by degrading ciprofloxacin, chloroquine phosphate, diclofenac sodium, paracetamol, and fluconazole under UV light and simulated sunlight. A gold loading of 0.5 wt% achieved the highest efficiency, with up to 90% degradation of ciprofloxacin under both irradiation sources. Degradation of other pharmaceuticals ranged from 84% (chloroquine phosphate) to 45% (diclofenac sodium), depending on molecular structure and affinity for the catalyst. This work presents a simple and reproducible UV-driven approach to fabricating Au/TiO2 nanocomposites for the photocatalytic degradation of pharmaceutical pollutants.
SN - 2046-2069
ER -