Synthesis and Characterization of TiO₂/SiO₂ Monoliths as Photocatalysts on Methanol Oxidation

Abstract

Photocatalytic materials based on silica-titania (SiO2-TiO2) were synthesized by sol-gel and dip-coating method. TEOS and titanium butoxide were used as precursors of the silica-titania, respectively. A thin film with anatase phase was obtained on the surface of the support. The effect of variables as dispersion mechanism, immersion time, and number of treatment cycles were studied. The materials were characterized using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersion scanning, and N2 adsorption-desorption. The highest crystallinity of TiO2 on silica, high specific surface area in TiO2-SiO2 materials, and thin film formation were obtained by using a stirring plate and minimum immersion time. The so synthesized catalyst allowed the production of formaldehyde from the photocatalyzed methanol oxidation in a packed-bed reactor.

To study the synthesis and characterization of photocatalyst TiO2/SiO2 nanocomposite prepared by Co-Precipitation method

“…Nano sized TiO2 can be synthesized by various techniques like Sol-gel, Sputtering, Combustion flame, and thermal plasma etc. [5] The purpose of adding amorphous SiO2 was because of its mechanical characteristics, superior adsorption capacity, and high surface area [6].…”

Visible-Light Active Sulfur-Doped Titania Nanoparticles Immobilized on a Silica Matrix: Synthesis, Characterization and Photocatalytic Degradation of Pollutants

“…To this end, pristine or doped TiO 2 NPs have been immobilized on metal oxides, carbon nanotubes, reduced graphene oxide, glassy substrates, polymeric surfaces and silica [32][33][34]. Previous works have shown that particularly the employment of silica (SiO 2 ) as the support increased the specific surface area of the catalyst, restricted the agglomeration of TiO 2 NPs and suppressed the anatase-to-rutile phase transformation during synthesis [35][36][37][38][39][40]. The use of silica is also regarded as a "safe-by-design" approach to prevent the release of TiO 2 NPs into the environment due to strong Si-O-Ti interactions [41][42][43][44][45][46][47].…”