Synthesis, characterization of titania supported on mesoporous MCM-41 and its application for the removal of methylene blue

Abstract

Solid acid substance of MCM-41 prepared by sol-gel method followed by incorporation of TiO2 within the mesochannels through a simple and effective impregnation method. TiO2 loaded on MCM-41 were synthesized at room temperature using tetraethoxysillane (TEOS), Cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) as template and titanium (IV) isopropoxide (TIP) as titanium source. The resultant mesoporous TiO2/MCM-41 samples were calcined at 550 0 C. The resultant samples were characterized using X-ray diffraction patterns (XRD), BET measurements, FT-IR and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Nitrogen adsorption-desorption measurements were used to measure surface area and average pores diameter at-196 0 C. The TiO2/MCM-41 with higher Ti/Si ratio shows low structural integrity and the formation of Ti-oxide species leading to a considerable decrease in surface area. The activities of TiO2/MCM-41 for adsorption of methylene blue (MB) studied in details. Adsorption increase with the modification of MCM-41 by TiO2 up to 25% of TiO2 then decreased. The samples of 25% TiO2 loaded on MCM-41 show higher catalytic activity.