Properties of binary TiO2-SiO2 composite particles with various structures prepared by vapor phase hydrolysis

Various TiO2/SiO2 composite nanoparticles were prepared by vapor phase hydrolysis of Titanium Tetraisopropoxide (TTIP) and Tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS) in a tubular reactor heated by electrical furnace by changing the methods of reactant mixing, the molar ratio of the precursors and the set temperature of the furnace. These variables affected the average size and the bulk composition of the particles as well as their morphological and crystalline structures. The morphological structures of the particles were reconfirmed as T-S, S-T and T/S as in the previous study. Various correlations were obtained between the molar ratio of the precursors, and the size, the composition and the TiO2 main peak intensity of the particles as a parameter of the mode of reactant mixing. In general, it was found that high content of silicon constituent showed translucent envelopes surrounding primary particles, which increased the dispersion diameter of the particles, reduced the thermal stability, retarded the anatase-to-rutile transformation and the initial photocatalytic degradation of phenol in an aqueous solution.