Nanomaterials
Plasmonic SiO2/TiO2 aerogels degrade RhB
Open access · cc by · source: Europe PMC
Anatase TiO2 grown in silica aerogels, then Ag@Au nanoshells, adsorbs and photocatalyzes rhodamine B far better than TiO2 powder.
Key findings
Bare SiO2 has 447.9 m2 g–1 area. Composite aerogels adsorb 56% of RhB versus 9% on TiO2 powder. Under solar light (>350 nm, 3 h) SiO2/TiO2 degrades 76% of RhB (6.3-fold vs TiO2’s 12%); SiO2 alone is 6%. Band gap of the composite is 2.3 eV versus 3.2 eV for anatase. Ag NPs average 34.7 nm; Ag@Au 97.5 nm. Excess Ag clogs pores and hurts dye degradation.
Methodology
They made silica aerogels from sodium silicate, grew anatase TiO2 in the pores (TNBT, calcine 600 °C), deposited Ag nanoparticles, then seed-grew Ag@Au nanoshells. Photocatalysis used 10−5 M RhB under a 300 W xenon lamp; they also tracked ROS and antibacterial phototoxicity.
Limitations
RhB is a model dye, not a real wastewater mixture. Ag@Au did not give high RhB conversion; the authors say metal loading still needs optimization. Antibacterial CFU assays are biological endpoints secondary to the materials chemistry.
How this study connects
Role on claims
Each row is a claim on a concept or method page where this paper supports, challenges, or qualifies the statement. Roles are hand-checked — not a model guess.
Anatase TiO2 grown in silica aerogels, then Ag@Au nanoshells, adsorbs and photocatalyzes rhodamine B far better than TiO2 powder.
Evidence for the claim as stated.
Related papers in this topic
Same topic cluster — not a recommendation engine.