Anisotropic magneli phase Ti-suboxides in β- cyclodextrin template - Enhanced charge separation upon gold doping

Substoichiometric titanium oxides i.e. Magneli phase (MP) TiOx are attractive due to their conductive nature. However, their synthesis is challenging. In this work, Anisotropic MP- Ti4O7 nanoparticles and Au doped nanocomposites were synthesized using β- cyclodextrin as template. The MP nanomaterials were 20-30 nm in size. The synthesis conditions were mild. These MP- TiOx nanomaterials show efficient charge separation upon light excitation i.e. they (i) act as efficient photocatalysts; (ii) they can be sensitized by a fluorescent dye; (iii) finite element method (FEM) simulations indicate substantial interfacial plasmonic charge generation at the metal-semiconductor interface in the doped nanocomposites.