Enhanced photocatalytic property of nanoporous TiO2/SiO2 micro-particles prepared by aerosol assisted co-assembly of nanoparticles

Abstract Nanoporous TiO2/SiO2 composite micro-particles were prepared by an aerosol assisted co-assembly (AACA) and their characteristics were investigated for photocatalytic application. The average diameter of resulting co-assembled TiO2/SiO2 particles was ranged 4–10 μm, and increased as the precursor concentration increased. The TiO2/SiO2 particles were spherical in shape and pores ranged 1–100 nm in diameter. Photocatalytic activity of the as-prepared nanoporous TiO2/SiO2 particles was evaluated by measuring the photodegradation of methylene blue (MB) and NOx. Furthermore, the photocatalytic activity of nanoporous TiO2/SiO2 particles was compared with those of commercial TiO2 nanoparticles and nanoporous TiO2 particles. The nanoporous TiO2/SiO2 particles exhibited the highest photodegradation of MB and NOx among three samples, which was 80% after 3 h and 55% at 10 min, respectively.