Preparation and application of nanoglued binary titania-silica aerogel.
Nanoglued binary titania (TiO2)-silica (SiO2) aerogel, as a novel type of photocatalyst, has been synthesized on glass substrates. Using an about-to-gel SiO2 sol as nanoglue, anatase TiO2 aerogel was immobilized into a three-dimensional mesoporous network of the SiO2. Factorial designs were employed to optimize both TiO2 aerogel and binary TiO2-SiO2 aerogel synthesis. Characterization of the as-prepared TiO2 and binary samples by surface area, porosity, and surface chemical composition showed that the photocatalysts were high-surface-area nanoporous materials, with a Ti4+ valency. The binary aerogel exhibited high photocatalytic activity for the degradation of methylene blue (MB) under simulated solar light; the reaction followed the pseudo first-order Langmuir-Hinshelwood (L-H) kinetic model. Fluorescence spectroscopy revealed that the hydroxyl (*OH) radical was formed during the illumination of the binary TiO2-SiO2 aerogel in a solution of probe molecules, which corroborates the probable mechanism of hydroxyl radical oxidation of contaminants in photocatalytic reactions.
Luo
Liang
L
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Temple University, 1947 North 12th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19122, United States.
Cooper
Adrienne T
AT
Fan
Maohong
M
D000269:Adhesives / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry*; D000336:Aerosols / Q000737:chemistry; D002384:Catalysis; D007700:Kinetics; D015394:Molecular Structure; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry*; D010777:Photochemistry; D012822:Silicon Dioxide / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry*; D013057:Spectrum Analysis; D014025:Titanium / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry*
D000269:Adhesives; D000336:Aerosols; C009495:titanium dioxide; D012822:Silicon Dioxide; D014025:Titanium