title: TiO2 nanoparticles versus TiO2-SiO2 nanocomposites: a comparative study of photo catalysis on acid red 88.
abstract: A novel, simple, less time-consuming and cost-effective wet chemical technique was used to synthesis TiO2 nanoparticles and TiO2-SiO2 nanocomposites using Titanium tetra isopropoxide (TTIP) as a precursor relatively at low temperature in acidic pH. Titania sol was prepared by hydrolysis of TTIP and was mixed with silicic acid and tetrahydrofuran mixture. The reaction was carried out under vigorous stirring for 6h and dried at room temperature. The resulting powders were characterized by UV-Visible spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope (SEM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM). The grain size of the particles was calculated by X-ray diffraction, surface morphology and chemical composition was determined from scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive spectroscopy, metal oxide stretching was confirmed from FT-IR spectroscopy, band gap was calculated using UV-Visible spectroscopy. Surface area of the composite as calculated by BET analyzer and it was found to be 65 and 75 m(2)/g for TiO2 and TiO2-SiO2 respectively. The photocatalytic experiments were performed with aqueous solution of acid red 88 with TiO2 and TiO2-SiO2 batch studies for 4h irradiation, direct photolysis of TiO2 and TiO2-SiO2 contributed 94.2% and 96.5% decomposition in solar radiation for the optimized concentration of acid red 88.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Vivekanandha College of Engineering for women, Namakkal, Tamil Nadu, India.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Balachandran
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Government Arts College, Udumalpet 642 126, Tamil Nadu, India. Electronic address: rvenckat@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Rajendran
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Venckatesh
authors.affiliation: Department of Biotechnology, School of Life Sciences, Karpagam University, Eachanari Post, Coimbatore 641 021, Tamil Nadu, India.
authors.forename: Rajeshwari
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sivaraj
authors.affiliation: Department of Biotechnology, School of Life Sciences, Karpagam University, Eachanari Post, Coimbatore 641 021, Tamil Nadu, India.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Rajiv
mesh_terms: D001391:Azo Compounds / Q000737:chemistry*; D053761:Nanocomposites / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D055668:Photochemical Processes; D012822:Silicon Dioxide / Q000737:chemistry*; D013053:Spectrophotometry; D014025:Titanium / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D001391:Azo Compounds; C009495:titanium dioxide; D012822:Silicon Dioxide; C542175:acid red 88; D014025:Titanium
keywords: Acid red 88; Decomposition; Nanocomposites; Photo catalysis; TiO(2)–SiO(2)