Sol-Gel Synthesis of Inorganic Mesostructured Composite Photocatalyst for Water Purification: An Insight Into the Synthesis Fundamentals, Reaction, and Binding Mechanisms

The paper discusses the sol-gel synthesis of an inorganic mesostructured composite photocatalyst for application in water purification. The fundamentals for each synthesis step on the final Ti-content, anatase-to-rutile composition, bonding structure and mechanism to kaolinite, shape, surface area, and size control were described. In addition, various advanced microscopic techniques were used to characterize and validate the physical and chemical properties of the composite photocatalyst. A hypothetical schematic for the fabrication of mesostructured composite photocatalyst was also presented to better illustrate the overall reaction and binding mechanism. The photocatalytic degradation of an aqueous dye solution was also investigated.