The microwave effect on the properties of silica-coated TiO2 fine particles prepared using sol–gel method

The silica coating of TiO2 fine particle was conducted using microwave assisted sol–gel method and conventional sol–gel method to suppress its photo-catalytic activity. The amount and uniformity of silica coating on TiO2 surface were characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (XRF), infrared spectroscopy (IR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and zeta potential measurements. XPS and XRF results showed that the presence of catalyst and reaction time were important factors to reach high silica amounts. SEM, TEM, and zeta potential results indicated that dense film coating of SiO2 layer formed on TiO2 surface in conventional sol–gel method, whereas the nucleation coating was observed on sample prepared by microwave assisted sol–gel method. When photo-catalytic activities and ultraviolet (UV) shielding abilities of these samples were evaluated, the sample prepared by microwave processing showed higher inhibition of photo-catalytic activity and better UV shielding ability than the sample prepared by conventional method. These results suggested that the coating method significantly affected the photo-catalytic activity and UV shielding ability of coated TiO2.