Study of the characteristics and properties of the SiO(2)/TiO(2)/Nb(2)O(5) material obtained by the sol–gel process

The SiO(2)/TiO(2)/Nb(2)O(5) material was set by the sol–gel method and was characterized by several techniques through thermogravimetric, spectroscopic, and textural analyzes. For the two synthesized materials, the specific surface area was 350.0 and 494.0 m(2) g(−1) (SiTiNb-A and SiTiNb-B, respectively). An enhance of the crystalline order with the temperature increase of the thermal treatment was observed. Through X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy analysis, the binding energy values for the Ti 2p and Nb 3d levels showed the insertion of Ti and Nb atoms in the silica matrix. The Electron Dispersive Spectroscopy analyses also confirmed the high dispersion of the metals presented on the materials surface. The Thermogravimetric Analysis showed weight loss for the of 37.6% (SiTiNb-A) and 29.7% (SiTiNb-B). The presence of the crystalline phases TiO(2)-anatase and monoclinic-Nb(2)O(5) in the materials was confirmed through the data obtained by association of powder X-ray Diffraction and FT-Raman. Values obtained from optical band-gap aimed the dependence of the oxides concentration and the calcination temperature. Finally, the pyridine adsorption studies have indicated the presence of Lewis and Brønsted acid sites.