Fluoroalkyl end-capped vinyltrimethoxysilane oligomer/anatase titanium oxide nanocomposites possessing photocatalytic activity even after calcination at 1000 °C

Fluoroalkyl end-capped vinyltrimethoxysilane oligomer [RF-(VM)n-RF] underwent the sol–gel reaction under alkaline conditions in the presence of anatase titanium oxide nanoparticles (an-TiO2) in tetrahydrofuran to give the corresponding fluorinated oligomer/anatase titanium oxide nanocomposites [RF-(VM-SiO2)n-RF/an-TiO2]. Crystalline structure of an-TiO2 in the nanocomposites thus obtained was found to keep completely its structure without phase transformation to rutile even after calcination at 1000 °C, although crystalline structure of the original an-TiO2 nanoparticles underwent a complete phase transformation to the rutile under similar conditions. Interestingly, RF-(VM-SiO2)n-RF/an-TiO2 nanocomposites before and after calcination at 1000 °C exhibited the similar photocatalytic activity for the decolorization of methylene blue under UV light irradiation.

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► Fluorinated silicon oligomer/anatase TiO2 composites keep anatase structure at 1000 °C.
► The composites exhibit the same photocatalytic activity before and after calcination.
► The composites can possess higher photocatalytic activity than parent TiO2.