Yolk@Shell Nanoarchitecture of Au@r-GO/TiO2 Hybrids as Powerful Visible Light Photocatalysts

Yolk@shell nanostructures of Au@r-GO/TiO2 with mesoporous shells were prepared by a sol–gel coating process sequentially with GO and TiO2 on Au/SiO2 core/shell spheres, followed by calcination and template removal, where the silica interlayer acts as a template not only to produce the void space but also to promote the coating of the r-GO and TiO2 layer. The evaluation of visible light photocatalytic activities in dye decomposition and water-splitting H2 production demonstrated their superior photocatalytic performance, which indicates their potential as powerful photocatalysts.