A novel combustion drying synthesis route of 3D WO3–SiO2 composite aerogels for enhanced adsorption and visible light photocatalytic activity

The 3D network nanoporous WO3–SiO2 composite aerogels were successfully synthesized by a novel combustion drying method. All the as-prepared composite aerogels were still with a typical three-dimensional network nanoporous structure, and exhibited high specific surface area with 486–667 m2/g and pore volume 2.0–2.68 cm3/g. Although samples were prepared by burning process, they still shown good hydrophobicity and heat resistance. The adsorption and photocatalytic properties of WO3–SiO2 composite aerogels showed that WO3–SiO2 composite aerogels realized the comprehensive utilization of the adsorption and photocatalysis, and the composite aerogels with high W content exhibited excellent adsorption performance and visible light photocatalytic activity. At last, the mechanism of synthesis of WO3–SiO2 composite aerogels by combustion drying technology was discussed. The results provide a new technical solution for the synthesis of composite aerogels photocatalysts.