Synthesis of TiO₂-SiO₂-cuo nanocomposite material and its activities for self-cleaning

Synthesis of TiO₂–SiO₂–CuO nanocomposite material have been prepared by Photo Assisted Deposition (PAD) and Stober method to obtain self-cleaning material which is useful for life commodity. The self–cleaning ability were measured by its hydrophilicity, furthermore, the nanocomposite also have been evaluated for its performance in the decolorization of methylene blue. The order of PAD and Stober method in nanocomposite synthesis were adjusted for different nanocomposite morphology. The characteristic of TiO₂–SiO₂–CuO nanocomposite consist the chemical bonding of Ti–O–Si which could enhance its hydrophilicity for self–cleaning purposes and the CuO dopant in the nanocomposite enhance the light responses to visible region. The SiO₂ addition affect the morphological structure, then enhance the nanocomposite surface area, adsorption of methylene blue, and its hydrophilicity. So the TiO₂–SiO₂–CuO nanocomposite exhibit much higher performance in decolorization of methylene blue which could reach 80% for 5 minutes and has 6⁰ contact angle compared with CuO-TiO₂. The morphology 1 nanocomposite which most of the CuO were at TiO₂ lattice possess superior self-cleaning ability than the morphology 2 nanocomposite which most of the CuO inhibits SiO₂.