Preparation, characterization and application of soluble TiO2@SiO2 nanospheres by a simple modified sol–gel procedure

In this study, we presented a simple approach for preparing TiO2@SiO2 nanospheres via ambient temperature sol–gel procedure. Due to the difference of reaction rate, amorphous SiO2 was stabilized in the surface of TiO2 nanospheres. The core–shell structure of the synthesized product were confirmed by FT-IR, XRD, SEM, and TEM analysis. The size of TiO2@SiO2 nanospheres was about 100–140 nm via microscopy analysis, and the thickness of SiO2 shell layer was in the range of 10–20 nm. In addition, the TiO2@SiO2 nanospheres displayed good dispersion in organic solvent, and soluble TiO2@SiO2 nanocomposites were presented in approximate transparent solution. Besides, the prepared PMMA/TiO2@SiO2 nanocomposite films had a well UV-shielding effect with almost blocking the damage of entire UV range, and the nanocomposite films based on the additives of TiO2@SiO2 possessed better UV aging-resistant effect than using the additives of TiO2. Hence, such facile synthesized route can be considered as a simple common method for preparing multifunctional nanocomposites.