Synthesis of nanostructured TiO2/SiO2 as an effective photocatalyst for degradation of acid orange

TiO2/SiO2 composites were produced as photocatalysts both by hydrolysis of TiCl4 and from TiO2 suspension prepared by hydrolysis of TiCl4. TiO2/SiO2 composites were dried at 70 °C and calcinated at 400 °C and 600 °C to investigate the effect of calcination temperature on the phase transformation of TiO2 structure. Photocatalytic effects of produced TiO2/SiO2 composites were measured against degradation of acid orange 7 (AO7) by UV–vis spectroscopy. The chemical compositions of produced samples were studied by X-ray fluorescence (XRF) technique. The composite structures were analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) facilities to reveal the surface morphology and their phase structures. Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) was conducted to understand the elemental surface composition of composites. Photocatalytic activity of composites normalized with surface area, and TiO2/SiO2 composite produced by TiO2 suspension prepared by hydrolysis of TiCl4 and calcinated at 600 °C indicated 40% photocatalytic degradation of AO7 after 2 h under UV radiation.