Preparation and photocatalytic activity of Cu2+-doped TiO2/SiO2

Cu2+-doped nanostructured TiO2-coated SiO2 (TiO2/SiO2) particles were prepared by the layer-by-layer assembly technique and their photocatalytic property was studied. TiO2 colloids were synthesized by the sol-gel method using TiOSO4 as a precursor. The experimental results showed that TiO2 nanopowders on the surface of SiO2 particles were well distributed and compact. The amount of TiO2 increased with the increase in coating layers. The shell structure appeared to be composed of anatase titania nanocrystals at 550°C. The 2-layer coated TiO2 particles on the surface showed a higher degradation rate compared with all the different-layer samples. The photocatalytic activity of Cu2+-doped TiO2/SiO2 was higher than that of undoped TiO2/SiO2. The optimum dopant content was about 0.10wt%.