Enhancing the photocatalytic properties of TiO2 by coupling with carbon nanotubes and supporting gold

► Au-CNT-TiO2 composites were synthesized by coupling CNT and Au to TiO2. ► The activity of Au-CNT-TiO2 materials is higher than that of CNT-TiO2 and Au-TiO2. ► The Au-CNT-TiO2 composites possess both advantages of CNTs and Au. ► The Au-CNT-TiO2 composites also overcome the disadvantages of surplus CNTs addition.