Preparation and characterization of mesoporous SBA-15 supported dye-sensitized TiO₂ photocatalyst

Titanium dioxide (TiO₂) is an excellent photocatalysis material for environmental purification. In order to increase the specific surface area and expand the wavelength range of excitation to visible region, dye-sensitized TiO₂ nanoparticles were fabricated onto the mesoporous silica material. In combination with sol-gel method, TiO₂, subsequently the quinacridone molecules were fabricated onto the inner pore wall of mesoporous SBA-15 silica. The hybrid material was characterized by FTIR, solid-state UV-vis spectroscopy, powder X-ray diffraction, nitrogen adsorption-desorption isotherm measurement, high-resolution TEM, and thermal analysis, respectively. The photocatalytic efficiency of such material was evaluated preliminarily. The resulting material still keeps the original hexagonal structure of SBA-15, and shows enhanced photocatalytic efficiency of decomposing indigo carmine than anatase TiO₂ and Ti-modified SBA-15 by using visible light irradiation.