In Situ Etching Synthesis of TiO2-SBA-15 Nanocomposite Enhancing Adsorption and Photocatalytic Degradation

The adsorption-enhancing TiO2-SBA-15 photocatalyst has been synthesized by an in situ etching displacement method, which possesses unique regular hexagonal pores and large specific surface area. The as-prepared TiO2-SBA-15 can effectively adsorb and increase the concentration of pollutants in the photocatalyst and collision likelihood with the photogenerated radicals, thus improving the efficiency of photocatalytic organic degradation. The structure and morphology have been characterized by N2adsorption isotherms, X-ray diffraction (XRD), high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). These characterizations confirm that TiF4alcohol solution prefers to react with the internal surface of SBA-15 because of the Siphon effect. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra demonstrate that a Ti-O-Si bond formed after the reaction of TiF4with SBA-15, which reveals a wonderful combination of TiO2and SiO2even at low temperatures. Through this function, the nanocomposite TiO2-SBA-15 could obviously improve the efficiency of photocatalytical removal of toluene in the gas phase.