Preparation and characterization of poly(MSMA-co-MMA)-TiO2/SiO2 nanocomposites using the colloidal TiO2/SiO2 particles via blending method

The water-based colloidal TiO2/SiO2 (TS) core/shell nanocomposites were prepared using nano-crystalline titanium dioxide (TiO2) sols and tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS), respectively, via sol–gel method. The core/shell nanocomposite particles were characterized by using various techniques such as particle size analysis, FE-SEM, FT-IR, X-ray diffraction (XRD), apparent surface coverage (ASC) and their photocatalytic activity for the decomposition of methylene blue (MB) in water. The prepared poly(MMA-co-MSMA)-TiO2/SiO2 (PTS) nanocomposite films, via blending method, from the colloidal TS and poly(MMA-co-MSMA) exhibited better thermal stability and higher glass transition temperature over pristine poly(MMA-co-MSMA). According to the atomic force microscopy (AFM) micrographs, the colloidal TS particles were homogeneously dispersed in the PTS nanocomposite films. The photocatalytic activity of the prepared PTS10 films for the decomposition of MB was 99.8% on the UV irradiation for 180 min and the rate constant value was about 78% that of the TS or TiO2 sols.