One-pot synthesis of foamed titania–silica composite and its photocatalytic performance

•The foamed titania–silica composite was synthesized by one-pot method.•The composite possesses foamed structures with cavities and mesoporous shells.•The composite showed enhanced photocatalytic activity.

A novel foamed titania–silica composite (FTSC) with hierarchical porous structures was prepared by a one-pot microemulsion method using tetrabutyl titanate and tetraethyl orthosilicate as titania and silica precursors. The as-prepared FTSC was characterized by powder X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope, transmission electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and N2 adsorption–desorption isotherms. The results show that the FTSC possesses foam like structures with cavities and mesoporous shells, and the anatase-phase titania in FTSC was confirmed. The specific surface area of FTSC is 354 m2/g and the average pore diameter is about 7.6 nm. The obtained FTSC shows promising efficiency in the photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue under UV light.

Graphical abstractThe foamed titania–silica composite (FTSC) possesses foam like structures with cavities and mesoporous shells. The photocatalytic activity evaluation shows that the FTSC exhibits better photocatalytic activity than commercial AEROXIDE TiO2 P25 powders. Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide