Nonylphenol is a harmful endocrine disruptor, and the concentration in ambient water should be restricted below 0.1 μM. We show that visible-light irradiation of gold nanoparticle (NP)-loaded rutile TiO2 (Au/rutile TiO2) plasmon photocatalyst leads to rapid and complete removal of nonylphenol from its dilute aqueous solution with the degradation. Au/rutile TiO2 exhibits much higher visible-light activity than Au/anatase TiO2 and BiVO4. Based on the results of the adsorption and Fourier-transformed infrared spectroscopic measurements, we present a unique reaction scheme consisting of a series of events, the fast oxidative adsorption and concentration of nonylphenol on the Au NP surface, the successive efficient oxidation induced by the localized surface plasmon resonance excitation-driven interfacial electron transfer from Au NP to rutile TiO2, and the regeneration of the adsorption sites by the surface transport of the intermediates from Au to TiO2.

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