Photocatalytic degradation of pharmaceutical pollutants using titanium dioxide supported by mesoporous silica

This study focuses on presenting a promising route for the synthesis of mesoporous silica, which is an ideal support for nano-crystalline TiO2. To systematically conduct this research, several weight percentages of 10%, 20%, 30% and 50wt% of TiO2 in TiO2 - SiO2 composites are prepared. The microscopic and spectroscopic specifications of core/shell structure of silicon oxide and titanium dioxide (SiO2/TiO2) are investigated. Specifically, the core/shell specifications are evaluated using N2 isotherm, diffusive reflective UV-Vis spectroscopy (DRUV-Vis), Sax xrd and imaged using transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). More importantly, the photocatalytic potential of the nanostructures TiO2 - SiO2 composites is evaluated via the photo-degradation of ibuprofen (IBP) as a dispensed model of contaminant. In this respect, the IBP decomposition and hydrogen generation are also utilised to assess the photocatalytic potential of the nanostructures. As a result, an enhanced photo-activity of (SiO2/TiO2) is affirmed via a simple comparison against the commercial TiO2-Degussa P25 catalyst. More importantly, ibuprofen photo degradation efficiency is highest with a photocatalyst having 20% TiO2 and 80% mesoporous silica.