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Mesoporous TiO2/SiO2/Ag ternary composite aerogels for high photocatalysis.

Authors :: Zhao, Xinfu
Ju, Wei
Zhang, Jian
Liu, Benxue
Zhang, Jing
Yi, Xibin
Source :: New Journal of Chemistry; 4/28/2019, Vol. 43 Issue 16, p6234-6241, 8p
Publication Year :: 2019
Abstract: TiO<subscript>2</subscript>/SiO<subscript>2</subscript>-Based nanocomposites with highly porous structures have received increasing attention due to their excellent photocatalytic activity. In this work, a TiO<subscript>2</subscript>/SiO<subscript>2</subscript>/Ag ternary composite aerogel with enhanced visible-light photocatalytic activity has been successfully synthesized through a facile sol–gel method combined with a supercritical drying technique. The specific surface area and pore structure of TiO<subscript>2</subscript>/SiO<subscript>2</subscript>/Ag aerogel could be controlled by adjusting the Si content. The TiO<subscript>2</subscript>/SiO<subscript>2</subscript>/Ag aerogel with pore size of 9.2 nm achieved the maximum adsorption capacity of oxytetracycline. The presence of SiO<subscript>2</subscript> in TiO<subscript>2</subscript>/SiO<subscript>2</subscript>/Ag improved the compression strength of the aerogel and thus achieved long-term stability in photocatalysis. Furthermore, the addition of Ag particles in TiO<subscript>2</subscript>/SiO<subscript>2</subscript>/Ag effectively decreased the recombination of photo-electrons and holes. The photocatalytic degradation rates of oxytetracycline over the TiO<subscript>2</subscript>/SiO<subscript>2</subscript>/Ag aerogel with a mole ratio of Ag : Si : Ti = 0.1 : 10 : 4 were 3.1 and 2.3 times those over P25 and a TiO<subscript>2</subscript>/SiO<subscript>2</subscript> aerogel. The enhanced photocatalytic performance of the TiO<subscript>2</subscript>/SiO<subscript>2</subscript>/Ag aerogel is attributed to the large specific surface area, 3-D porous structure, high electrical conductivity and compression strength of this novel composite aerogel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]