Surface Modification Reaction of Photocatalytic Titanium Dioxide with Triethoxysilane for Improving Dispersibility

We have carried out the surface modification of photocatalytic TiO2 with triethoxysilane through dehydrogenation reaction and characterized the modified photocatalyst by spectroscopic methods, such as FT-IR, solid-state 29Si MAS NMR, XPS, and XRF, etc. We also examined photocatalytic activity of the immobilized photocatalytic titanium dioxide with triethoxysilane by decolorization reaction of dyes such as cong red and methylene blue under visible light. Dispersion test showed that the photocatalytic titanium dioxide immobilized with triethoxysilane group has kept higher dispersibility than titanium dioxide itself. No appreciable precipitation takes place even after standing for 24 h in the 4:6 mixture ratio of ethanol and water