Silica–Titania Composite Aerogel Photocatalysts by Chemical Liquid Deposition of Titania onto Nanoporous Silica Scaffolds

Silica-titania composite aerogels were synthesized by chemical liquid deposition of titania onto nanoporous silica scaffolds. This novel deposition process was based on chemisorption of partially hydrolyzed titanium alkoxides from solution onto silica nanoparticle surfaces and subsequent hydrolysis and condensation to afford titania nanoparticles on the silica surface. The titania is homogeneously distributed in the silica-titania composite aerogels, and the titania content can be effectively controlled by regulating the deposition cycles. The resultant composite aerogel with 15 deposition cycles possessed a high specific surface area (SSA) of 425 m(2)/g, a small particle size of 5-14 nm, and a large pore volume and pore size of 2.41 cm(3)/g and 18.1 nm, respectively, after heat treatment at 600 °C and showed high photocatalytic activity in the photodegradation of methylene blue under UV-light irradiation. Its photocatalytic activity highly depends on the deposition cycles and heat treatment. The combination of small particle size, high SSA, and enhanced crystallinity after heat treatment at 600 °C contributes to the excellent photocatalytic property of the silica-titania composite aerogel. The higher SSAs compared to those of the reported titania aerogels (<200 m(2)/g at 600 °C) at high temperatures combined with the simple method makes the silica-titania aerogels promising candidates as photocatalysts.