Fabrication and characterization of MoO3 clusters-coated TiO2 nanotubes showing charge-transferred photoluminescence

MoO₃ clusters-coated TiO₂ nanotubes were synthesized wet-chemically and characterized by measuring photoluminescence spectra and kinetic profiles as well as extinction spectra and electron microscope images. TiO₂ nanotubes having an average outer diameter of 30 nm and an average thickness of 8 nm are surrounded by MoO₃ clusters with an average thickness of 4 nm. The excitation of both the TiO₂ cores and the MoO₃ shells of the type-II nanocomposites suspended in water yields charge-transferred junction photoluminescence having a long lifetime of 2.3 ns at 460 nm.