TiO2@SiO2 nanoparticles for methylene blue removal and photocatalytic degradation under natural sunlight and low-power UV light

We have developed an efficient SiO2-TiO2 nanoparticle system with enhanced photocatalytic degradation under natural sunlight and low-power UV light. The SiO2-TiO2 system was synthesized by adding different mole ratios of SiO2 to TiO2, the ratios of 10:1, 5:1, and 2:1 have been used. SiO2-TiO2 nanoparticles with a 2:1 mole ratio showed enhanced photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue (MB) due to the presence of highly crystalline anatase TiO2 nanoparticles as well as good adsorption capacity due to the highly porous nature of samples. SiO2TiO2 with a mole ratio of 5:1 showed the highest adsorption capacity of 88.6% after 30 min under dark conditions. Photocatalytic degradation of 90% and 85% was achieved for Si2Ti after 30 min in sunlight and UV light respectively. In addition, almost complete degradation of MB (98%) was obtained after 2 h in sunlight.

Automated summary

An efficient SiO2-TiO2 nanoparticle system has been developed for enhanced photocatalytic degradation under natural sunlight and low-power UV light. Different mole ratios of SiO2 to TiO2 were used, with the 5:1 ratio system showing the highest adsorption capacity and the 2:1 ratio system demonstrating the best photocatalytic degradation performance.