Photocatalytic properties of Ag surface doped nanocrystalline TiO 2-SiO 2 composite films

Ag surface doped TiO 2-SiO 2 composite films had been synthesized by the sol-gel method and doping processes, in which tetrabutyl titanate (Ti(OC 4H 9) 4) and tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS) were chosen as the precursors and silver nitrate (AgNO 3) was chosen as silver source. The experimental results revealed that the Ag surface doped TiO 2-SiO 2 composite film was composed of uniform round-like nano-particles or aggregates with the size range of 4-10 nm. Compared with pure TiO 2 film, Ag surface doped TiO 2-SiO 2 composite film exhibited excellent photocatalytic activity. It is believed that the microstructure of the composite film is responsible for improving the photocatalytic activity. © (2012) Trans Tech Publications, Switzerland.