TiO2 based photocatalysis has been widely investigated and has vital applications in energy and environmental remediation processes.
In this connection research is being conducted in the zone of supported TiO2 based photocatalysts for development of visible light
induced photocatalytic material. A series of materials were synthesized including zeolite based composite photocatalyst, N-doped mesopourous
titania and investigated for dye degradation followed by hydrogen generation. Current research trend is towards supported photocatalyst
therefore silica gel supported TiO2 photocatalyst was designed and developed also compared with alumina based photocatalyst.
From the experimental data it was found that Silica based system has edge over the other synthesized photocatalysts with effective dye
degradation of about 9.61 mg of MO reduced per g of TiO2 (0.508 mg of MO reduced per g of TiO2 for Degussa P-25). MO photoreduction is
19 times higher as compared to benchmark material Degussa P-25. Results well illustrate the formation of high dispersed metal oxide on
silica framework