Catalytic activity of porous TiO2 obtained by sol–gel process in the degradation of phenol

The sol–gel process is an efficient method to produce porous solids for catalyst reactions. Titania, in the form of anatase, is a photo-catalyst and the scientific and technological interest in its use in the field of wastewater treatment has grown. In this work, porous TiO2 was prepared by the sol–gel method using solutions of tetraisopropylorthotitanate containing polyethylene glycol (PEG) with different molecular weights. Gel samples were dried at 100 °C and then thermally treated at 520 °C for the decomposition of PEG. Structural characteristics were studied by thermal analysis (TGA and DTA), scanning electronic microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and nitrogen gas adsorption (BET). The photo-activity of these materials was tested in the photo-catalytic degradation of phenol as a reaction model.