Synthesis and Characterization of Monolithic Titania/Nanoclay Nanocomposite Aerogels

Titania aerogels are three-dimensional nanostructures with high specific surface area, very low density and high porosity. They have been used extensively as photocatalysts. In this work, novel monolithic titania/nanoclay nanocomposite aerogels were synthesized. The nanocomposite aerogels at different loading levels (1, 2 and 3 wt. % nanoclay based on monomer content in the sol) were synthesized by sol-gel process and dried with supercritical carbon dioxide drying method. By increasing the amount of nanoclay in the composition, the monolithic shape of all aerogel samples was preserved. The porosities of the as-prepared nanocomposite aerogels were more than 96%, while densities were below 0.159 gr/cm3. X-ray Diffractometry (XRD) results indicated that all nanocomposite aerogel samples showed exfoliated morphology and the presence of crystalline phase in heat treated titania/clay aerogels. In addition, FE-SEM (Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy) images demonstrated nanoporous structure for both titania and nanocopmposite aerogels. These results confirmed the potential properties of the titania/nanoclay nanocomposite prepared in this study for high-performance photocatalytic application.