Size effect of TiO2–SiO2 nano-hybrid particle

This paper describes the effect of drying process on the preparation of TiO2–SiO2 nano-hybrid particles. The hybrid sol was prepared by sol–gel process with controlled chemical modification (CCM) to attain the TiO2 nano-coating on the SiO2 nano-sphere. The hydrolysis reaction of titanium alkoxide was controlled by RA ([CH3COOH]/[Ti]), and RW ([H2O]/[Ti]). The hybrid particles were dried by under the super critical drying to suppress the hard agglomeration of the as-prepared nano-hybrid sol. As a result, the hard agglomeration of the primary particles was successfully suppressed to obtain TiO2–SiO2 nano-hybrid particles with controlled chemical modification of titanium alkoxide. The quantum size effect of nano-hybrid particles was confirmed by the band gap energy shift, using ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy (UV–vis).