Templated self-assembly of Au–TiO2 binary nanoparticles–nanotubes

In this work, we developed a templated self-assembly approach to fabricate self-supporting Au/TiO2 binary nanoparticles–nanotubes (NPNTs) for the first time. The stable Au/TiO2 nanoparticles colloids were pre-synthesized and then deposited onto an AAO template, following by a mild calcination process. Au/TiO2 binary NPNTs can be achieved after removing the AAO template by NaOH solution. In addition, Au/TiO2 NPNTs with different thicknesses and size distributions could be achieved by tailoring the process parameters, such as the molar ratio of AuNPs to TiO2NPs, deposition modes and calcinations conditions. Therefore, these findings made controllable formation of Au/TiO2 NPNTs attractive for promising fabrication methodologies of metal/metal oxides NPNTs.

Graphical abstractSelf-supporting Au/TiO2 binary nanoparticles–nanotubes are prepared via a self-assembly approach for the first time. The thickness of the tubes and size distribution of nanoparticles on the binary nanoparticles–nanotubes can be fine-tuned by tailoring the process parameters.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide