| Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1666287 | Thin Solid Films | 2013 | 7 Pages |
Hybrid thin films, silica–titanium oxides and silica–aluminum oxides, designed based on the sol–gel process are evaluated as catalysts in the photo-degradation of the cationic dyes. Silica matrices from different precursors with various organic functional groups and cross-linked with titanium or aluminum agents (tetraisopropyl orthotitanate and aluminum sec-butoxide) allow the surface property tailoring related to the high capacity of the dye adsorption respective, high photo-degradation activity. The cationic dyes (methylene blue, rhodamine B, crystal violet, malachite green) embedded on the hybrid silica matrix, under ultraviolet light, have a first order kinetics of photodegradation. The cross-linking agents play a key role in the photocatalytic degradation and silica matrix as dye absorbent. The photo-degradation rate for the binary system derived from methyltriethoxysilane/vinyltriethoxysilane precursors with both cross linkers showed a significant improvement by comparison with other hybrid materials. The significant increasing in the photodecomposition rate is related to the capacity to generate additional oxidizing species by each silica hybrid compounds.
► Dyes display different electrostatic interactions to the silica matrix. ► Cross-linking agent influences the photocatalytic degradation of dyes. ► Photodegradation reaction obeyed the rules of a pseudo-first-order kinetic reaction. ► UV radiation can be the origin of the photodegradation.
