Abstract

This research work employed natural renewable silica source; Bambusa Vulgaris leaf ash (bamboo leaf ash) using sol-gel method to produce TiO2-SiO2 nano particulate composite. Also, tetraisopropoxide (TTIP) was used as titanium source. The produced TiO2-SiO2 nano particulate composite were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Ultraviolet Visible Diffused Reflectance Spectrophotometer (UV-Vis DRS), Gas Sorption Analyzer based on BET, Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA), and Fourier Transformation Infrared (FT-IR) The XRD results indicate that when TiO2 was disperse over the SiO2 the crystallite peaks obtained are all in anatase phase. The TGA analysis shows that TiO2-SiO2 nano composite can be applied in high temperature operation. FT-IR spectra shows the presence of Ti-O-Si bond interaction with O-H as a result of physically adsorbed water in the composite. BET analysis reveals that supporting TiO2 on SiO2 surface increases the surface area of TiO2 by 2.7% and pore volume by 2.8% with the particle sizes within the nano range. SEM and EDX analysis show that the produced TiO2-SiO2 and doped TiO2-SiO2 nanoparticles were relatively spherical and the produced TiO2-SiO2 contains no impurity