Silica supported TiO2 nanostructures for highly efficient photocatalytic application under visible light irradiation

• Synthesis of silica–titania nanocomposite by simple and facile chemical route and characterization of the materials.
• Excellent catalytic activity on organic pollutant methylene blue under the visible light irradiation.
• Photocatalytic rate is much higher than commercial P25 TiO2 catalyst powder.
• The higher activity is attributed to the special structure and synergistic effect of the materials which has immense application potential.

Titanium dioxide decorated silica nanospheres have been synthesized by a simple wet chemical approach. X-ray diffraction, electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray analysis revealed that anatase phase of TiO2 nanostructures, with exposed {0 0 1} and {1 0 1} facets, are anchored onto the amorphous silica spheres of ∼60 nm diameter. The photocatalytic activity of the sample under visible light irradiation was examined. It is found that photocatalytic efficiency of the material is better than commercial P25 TiO2 photocatalyst and the result is attributed to the unique synergistic effect of SiO2–TiO2 nanocomposite structure resulting enhanced charge separation and charge transfer.

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