Synthesis of Mesoporous Titania–Silica Monolith Composites — A Comprehensive Study on their Photocatalytic Degradation of Acid Blue 113 Dye Under UV Light

Abstract

The present work deals with the synthesis of bi-continuous macro and mesoporous crack-free titania–silica monoliths, with well-defined structural dimensions and high surface area. The work also highlights their potential photocatalytic environmental applications. The highly ordered titania–silica monoliths are synthesized through direct surface template method using organic precursors of silica and titania in the presence of surface directing agents such as pluronic P123 and PEG, under acetic acid medium. The monoliths are synthesized with different Ti/Si ratios to obtain monolithic designs that exhibit better photocatalytic activity for dye degradation. The titania–silica monoliths are characterized using XRD, SEM, EDAX, FT-IR, TG–DTA and BET analysis. The photocatalytic activity of the synthesized monoliths is tested on the photodegradation of a textile dye (acid blue 113). It is observed that the monolith with 7:3 ratio of Ti/Si showed significant photocatalysis behavior in the presence of UV light. The influence of various physico-chemical properties such as, solution pH, photocatalyst dosage, light intensity, dye concentration, effect of oxidants, etc. are analyzed and optimized using a customized photoreactor set-up. Under optimized conditions, the monoliths exhibited superior degradation kinetics, with the dye dissipation complete within 10[Formula: see text]min of photolysis. The mesoporous catalysts are recoverable and reusable up to four cycles of repeated usage.

Development of sustainable acid blue 113 dye adsorption system using nutraceutical industrial Tribulus terrestris spent

“…The techniques, methods and procedures reported in literature for the remediation of AB113 dye can be broadly classified into biological-cum-chemical [13,20,21,28,51] electrocoagulation [39], physical methods using UV radiations [36,44,[46][47][48], photocatalytic degradation [66,74], low frequency ultrasound assisted degradation [40], nanomaterials [49] and use of inorganic materials including activated carbons [16,34,42,43,45,63]. Nevertheless, huge initial cost in installing operational plant, high-operational cost, regeneration problem, secondary pollutants, sensitivity to variations in wastewater input, interference by some wastewater constituents, and residual sludge generation are some associated problems in these methods [11,61].…”

Insights into isotherms, kinetics, and thermodynamics of adsorption of acid blue 113 from an aqueous solution of nutraceutical industrial fennel seed spent

“…Little information about its discoloration, degradation and adsorption from textile industrial effluent (TIE) has been reported. Various techniques, methods, and procedures have been reported in the literature, which are listed as electrocoagulation 1 , photocatalytic degradation 2 , 3 , biological–chemical procedures 4 – 13 , ultrasound methods with low frequency 14 , sono catalytic procedures 15 , 16 , and nanomaterials 17 , 18 . Various inorganic and nanomaterials are reported, of which activated carbon is widely used in textile industries 5 , 19 , 20 .…”

TiO2–SiO2 Self-Standing Materials bearing Hierarchical Porosity: MUB-200(x) Series toward 3D-Efficient VOC Photoabatement Properties

“…To the best of our knowledge, this is the first example of photoactive SiO 2 /TiO 2 monoliths offering heterogeneous photoinduced air treatment at the gas–solid interface. Indeed if the preparation of TiO 2 /SiO 2 monoliths has been well described, then their photoactivity has been studied only in solution by the study of dye decoloration. , The second very important advantage is indeed “geometric”. As working now within the volume of the photocatalysts and not only on their outer surface while providing upgraded photoefficiency (Figure , Table ), the photocatalytic systems could be miniaturized, offering the potential toward indoor air treatment within vehicles/homes while drastically limiting the associated encumbrance or footprint penalty.…”