Photocatalytic paper based on sol–gel titania nanoparticles immobilized on porous silica for VOC abatement

A new composite paper with high photocatalytic performance has been successfully manufactured by introducing titania-anchored porous silica into cellulose fibres. The silica particles with an average size of 700 nm were synthesized via CaCO3 templating and further employed as support to grow titania nanoparticles (5.2 nm) by sol–gel synthesis with variable weight ratios. The photocatalytic materials have been characterized using various techniques including BET, XRD, Raman spectroscopy, SEM and TEM + EDX + ED microscopies. The composite TiO2/SiO2 particles have been further introduced in bulk paper to generate highly active photocatalytic TiO2-loaded papers. The activity of the papers has been demonstrated in the room-temperature degradation of ethanol (50–200 ppm) under UV irradiation, showing a comparable activity to that of commercial TiO2-coated papers. The effect of the main textural variables during papermaking on the photocatalytic performance are discussed in detail