Preparation and characterization of Zr-containing silica residue purification loaded nano-TiO2 composite photocatalysts

ZSR-P loaded nano-TiO2 composite photocatalysts (TiO2/ZSR-P) have been prepared by the sol-gel method using the by-product Zr-containing silica residue (ZSR) as precursors during the production process of zirconium oxychloride, the structure and properties of TiO2/ZSR-P were characterized in this paper. The results showed that the TiO2/ZSR-P composite photocatalysts were characterized by the uniform loading of nano-TiO2 on the surface of amorphous SiO2 particles in ZSR-P. TiO2 and SiO2 were combined by forming -Ti-O-Si-bonds at the interface and the crystalline structure of TiO2 powders was identified a mixed phase of anatase and rutile, its loading amount was 17.14%, the particle size raged from 7 to 12 nm. The degradation rate of TiO2/ZSR-P to the con-centration of 5 ppm and 10 ppm methyl orange solution reached 99.52% and 100% respectively after 140 min of ultraviolet irradiation, and it still maintained stable performance after repetitive-use of the catalyst for 4 times.