Porous TiO2-coated Magnetic Core-Shell Nanocomposites: Preparation and Enhanced Photocatalytic Activity

The core-shell structured TiO2/SiO2@Fe3O4 photocatalysts were prepared using Fe3O4 as magnetic core, tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) as silica source and tetrabutyl titanate (TBOT) as titanium sources. The as-obtained structure was composed of a SiO2@Fe3O4 core and a porous TiO2 shell. The diameter of SiO2@Fe3O4 core was about 205 nm with thickness of porous TiO2 of about 5-6 nm. The 9%TiO2/6% SiO2@Fe3O4 microspheres possess the highest BET surface area and the BJH pore volume, which are 373.5 m2·g−1 and 0.28 cm3·g−1, respectively. The 9%TiO2/6%SiO2@Fe3O4 photocatalyst exhibited an excellent performance for the degradation of methyl orange and methylene blue dyes. Two different dyes were completely decolorized in 60 min under UV irradiation. The photocatalytic activity and the amount of catalyst were almost not decrease after recycling for 6 times by using external magnetic field.