Rapid synthesis of titania–silica nanoparticles photocatalyst by a modified sol–gel method for cyanide degradation and heavy metals removal

Highlights: ► TiO2–SiO2 photocatalyst was prepared by a modified sol–gel technique. ► The modified TiO2–SiO2 catalyst shows remarkable photocatalytic activity. ► Complete degradation of cyanide and removal of Cr, Co, Pb were achieved. ► Catalytic performance depends essentially on catalyst, target and reaction time. - Abstract: Titania–silica (TiO2–SiO2) photocatalyst was prepared by a modified sol–gel technique. Titania sol was firstly synthesized by acid hydrolysis of a TiCl4 precursor instead of titanium alkoxides. The titania sol was further modified with SiO2 to obtain a modified catalyst. The as-prepared TiO2–SiO2 catalyst demonstrated a remarkable photocatalytic activity toward degradation of cyanide and heavy metals removal (Cr(III), Co(II) and Pb(II)). The influence of the preparation parameters; the reaction time, the calcination temperature and time, the [H+]/[Ti] ratio, the pH value and the acid concentration on the structural and chemical properties of the catalyst was investigated in details. The catalytic performance was found to depend essentially on the catalyst and target concentrations and the reaction time. The as-synthesized catalyst was characterized by a variety of techniques including surface area measurement, X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and ultraviolet–visible (UV–vis) spectroscopy measurements. Results of the synthesis and characterization of TiO2–SiO2 catalyst and its photocatalytic performance are presented and thoroughly discussed.