Peptization technique in the synthesis of titania–silica composites and their photocatalytic properties
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Date
2012-05-18
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Chemical Engineering Journal
Abstract
A comparative study of titania–silica composite (TSC) synthesized via peptization sol–gel method
was conducted. Typically, titanium hydroxide gel (Ti(OH)4) was formed by condensation of titanium
oxychloride solution using adequate amount of ammonium hydroxide solution. The preformed gel was
peptized either in silicic acid (SA) or nitric acid (NA) to form a sol. The composite was characterized
by XRD, FTIR, SEM, TEM, TGA, and N2 physisorption studies. The XRD patterns and the TEM micrographs
confirmed that thermal-derived samples of the composite, formed using silicic acid as a silica source and
peptizing agent (TSC–SA), yielded TiO2ASiO2 composite with a single-phase (anatase phase); while a
mixture of both anatase and rutile phases were observed in the composite (TSC–NA), where nitric acid
was used as a peptizing agent. FTIR analysis showed the vibration band assignable to the TiAOASi bond
at 945 cm 1, suggesting that titania was incorporated into silica to form a composite. Furthermore, a
simple experiment of photodegradation of methyl orange in the presence of sunlight was performed to
demonstrate the practical efficacy of the composites synthesized via this method. The results indicated
that the calcined samples of TSC–NA-800 had the highest activity due to its superior properties.
Description
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