Phenol and methylene blue photodegradation over Ti/SBA-15 materials under uv light

Ordered SBA-15 mesoporous silica supports have been synthesized and used for incorporation of titanium with different Ti/Si weight ratio via incipient wetness impregnation. Titanium tetraisopropoxide (TTIP) was used as a source of Ti. Obtained catalysts were characterized to investigate the chemical framework and morphology by nitrogen sorption measurements, powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray fluorescence elemental analysis (XRF), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (UV-Vis DRS) and Fourier transform infrared photoacoustic spectroscopy (FT-IR/PAS). The photocatalytic degradation of phenol and methylene blue water solutions were selected as a probe reactions to the photoactivity test of prepared samples and to verify the potential application of these materials for water purification. Experimental results indicate that the photocatalytic activity of Ti/Si mixed materials depends on the adsorption ability of composites and the photocatalytic activity of the titanium oxide.