Photocatalytic activity of titania modified mesoporous silica for pollution control

A series of titania modified mesoporous silicates with variable Si/Ti ratios were prepared using titanium tetrabutoxide by impregnation method. The samples were characterized by different analytical techniques such as XRD, TEM, FT-IR, low temperature N-2 sorption, and UV-Vis diffused reflectance spectroscopy. The TiO2, supported on mesoporous silica was found to be in the anatase form. Crystallite size calculated using Scherrer's formula was found to be in the range 18-20 nm. However, the TiO2 particle diameter estimated by TEM was 5 urn. UV-Vis spectra showed a blueshift of the absorption edge for all the samples. The BET surface area decreased with TiO2, loading. Photodegradation of basic dye-like methylene blue (MB) was studied on these titania modified mesoporous silica using UV irradiation. Volatile organic pollutants like phenol and toluene can also be photocatalytically degraded using these titania modified mesoporous silicates. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.