Organic contaminants from industrial and/or domestic effluents may be harmful to humans directly or indirectly by degrading the quality of the aquatic environment. Consequently these contaminants must be reduced to levels that are not harmful to humans and the environment before disposal. Chemical, physical and biological methods exist for the removal of these pollutants from effluents. Among the available chemical methods, heterogeneous photocatalytic oxidation has been found particularly effective in removing a large number of persistent organics in water. In this study, photocatalytic degradation was explored for the removal of reactive azo-dye (textile dye), triclocarban (disinfectant), clopyralid (herbicide) and three endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) (estrone, 17ß-estradiol and 17α-ethinylestradiol) from synthetic effluents. The major factors affecting the photocatalytic processes including the initial concentration of the target compounds, the amount of catalyst, the light intensity, the type of catalyst, the electron acceptor, the irradiation time and the pH were studied. Other oxidation techniques including (O3, H2O2, UV) were also studied. Generally UV light is used in combination with titanium dioxide, as photocatalyst, to generate photoinduced charge separation leading to the creation of electron-hole pairs. The holes act as electron acceptors hence the oxidation of organics occur at these sites. These holes can also lead to the formation of hydroxyl radicals which are also effective oxidants capable of degrading the organics. The results obtained in this study indicated that photolysis (i.e. UV only) was found to have no effect on the degradation of reactive azo-dye (RO16). However, complete photocatalytic degradation of 20 mg/L (3.24×10-2 mM) RO16 was achieved in 20 minutes in the presence of 1g/L TiO2 Degussa P25 at pH 5.5. Comparison between various types of catalysts (i.e. Degussa P25, VP Aeroperl, Hombifine N) gave varied results but Degussa P25 was the most effective photocatalyst hence it was selected for this study. For RO16 the optimum catalyst concentration was 0.5 g/L TiO2 with initial concentration of 20 mg/L RO16. It was found that the disappearance of RO16 satisfactorily followed the pseudo first-order kinetics according to Langmuir-Hinshelwood (L-H) model. The rate constant was k= 0.0928 mol/min. Photodegradation of TCC was studied in 70%v acetonitrile: 30%v water solutions. UV light degraded TCC effectively and the reaction rates increased with decreasing initial concentration of TCC. UV/TiO2 gave unsatisfactory degradation of triclocarban (TCC) since only 36% were removed in 60 minutes with initial concentration of TCC 20 mg/L. The degradation of clopyralid and the EDCs was studied using three oxidation systems UV/TiO2, UV/H2O2 and O3. Complete degradation of clopyralid (3,6-DCP) was achieved with UV/TiO2 in about 90 minutes at an optimum catalyst concentration of 1g/L. Zero-order kinetics was found to describe the first stage of the photocatalytic reaction in the concentration range 0.078-0.521 mM. At pH 5 the rate constant was 2.09×10-6-4.32×10-7 M.s-1.Complete degradation of all the three EDCs was achieved with UV/H2O2 in 60 minutes at catalyst concentration of (2.94×10-2 M). On the other hand complete degradation of the EDCs was achieved in just 2 minutes with ozonation. For high concentration EDCs, TiO2/UV gave low efficiency of degradation as compared with ozone and H2O2/UV. First-order kinetics was found to describe the photocatalytic reaction of the EDCs. / Education Service Department of the Libyan Government

While photocatalysis is considered a promising sustainable technology in the field of heterogeneous catalysis as well as biocatalysis, figures of merit (FOM) for comparing catalytic performance, especially between disciplines, are not well established. Here, photocatalytic water splitting was conducted using a semiconductor (NiO/La-NaTaO3) and a bio-photocatalyst (Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803) in the same setup under similar reaction conditions, eliminating the often ill-defined influence of the setup on the FOMs obtained. Comparing the results enables the critical evaluation of existing FOMs and a quantitative comparison of both photocatalytic systems. A single FOM is insufficient to compare the photocatalysts, instead a combination of multiple FOMs (reaction rate, photocatalytic space time yield and a redefined apparent quantum yield) is superior for assessing a variety of photocatalytic systems.

[ES] La situación energética y medioambiental actual requiere de un cambio de paradigma energético, sustituyendo las fuentes de energía primarias basadas en combustibles fósiles (carbón, petróleo y gas natural) por otras más limpias y renovables. Dentro de este cambio, la fotocatálisis, simulando a la fotosíntesis natural, surge como una alternativa para la producción de combustibles a partir de la molécula de CO2. Los hidróxidos dobles laminares (LDH) son una familia de materiales con propiedades prometedoras para su aplicación en el campo de la fotocatálisis, dada la posibilidad de modular su composición química y morfología dependiendo del método de síntesis. En concreto, los hidróxidos dobles laminares que contienen Ti en su estructura (un elemento bien conocido por el uso del TiO2 en fotocatálisis) pueden tener aplicación en este campo, aunque debido a la dificultad de incorporación de un metal tetravalente en la estructura LDH, no han sido muy estudiados. En este contexto, la presente Tesis Doctoral ha probado la aplicabilidad de estos LDH conteniendo Ti en su composición en procesos de transformación fotocatalítica de la molécula de CO2 para dar lugar a combustibles solares y otras moléculas de interés para la industria. Además, se han estudiado los beneficios de la incorporación de un número elevado de elementos metálicos en un mismo material LDH (hasta siete en el caso de la presente Tesis) en la actividad fotocatalítica de dicho material. / [CA] La situació energètica i mediambiental actual requereix d'un canvi de paradigma energètic, substituint les fonts d'energia primàries basades en combustibles fòssils (carbó, petroli i gas natural) per altres més netes i renovables. Dins d'este canvi, la fotocatàlisis, simulant a la fotosíntesi natural, sorgeix com una alternativa per a la producció de combustibles a partir de la molècula de CO2. Els hidròxids dobles laminars (LDH) són una família de materials amb propietats prometedores per a la seua aplicació en el camp de la fotocatàlisis, donada la possibilitat de modular la seua composició química i morfologia depenent del mètode de síntesi. En concret, els hidròxids dobles laminars que contenen Ti en la seua estructura (un element ben conegut per l'ús del TiO2 en fotocatàlisis) poden tindre aplicació en este camp, encara que a causa de la dificultat d'incorporació d'un metall tetravalent en l'estructura LDH, no han sigut molt estudiats. En este context, la present Tesi Doctoral ha provat l'aplicabilitat d'estos LDH, contenint Ti en la seua composició, en processos de transformació fotocatalítica de la molècula de CO2 per a donar lloc a combustibles solars i altres molècules d'interès per a la indústria. A més, s'han estudiat els beneficis de la incorporació d'un nombre elevat d'elements metàl·lics en un mateix material LDH (fins a set en el cas de la present Tesi) en l'activitat fotocatalítica d'este material. / [EN] The current energy and environmental problematics call for a shift in the energy paradigm, replacing primary energy sources based on fossil fuels (coal, oil, and natural gas) with cleaner and renewable alternatives. Within this transition, photocatalysis, mimicking natural photosynthesis, emerges as an alternative for fuel production from CO2 molecules. Layered double hydroxides (LDHs) constitute a family of materials with promising properties for application in the field of photocatalysis, given the ability to modulate their chemical composition and morphology depending on the synthesis method. Specifically, LDHs containing Ti in their structure (a well-known element for the TiO2 usage in photocatalysis) may find application in this field, although the incorporation of a tetravalent metal into the LDH structure has been less explored due to its difficulty. In this context, the present Doctoral Thesis has demonstrated the applicability of these Ti-containing LDHs in photocatalytic transformation processes of CO2 molecules to produce solar fuels and other molecules of interest for the industry. Additionally, the Thesis has explored the benefits of incorporating a high number of metallic elements into a single LDH material (up to seven in this case) on the photocatalytic activity of the resulting material. / Molina Muriel, M. (2024). Preparación de materiales basados en hidróxidos dobles laminares como fotocatalizadores [Tesis doctoral]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/203889

Organic contaminants from industrial and/or domestic effluents may be harmful to humans directly or indirectly by degrading the quality of the aquatic environment. Consequently these contaminants must be reduced to levels that are not harmful to humans and the environment before disposal. Chemical, physical and biological methods exist for the removal of these pollutants from effluents. Among the available chemical methods, heterogeneous photocatalytic oxidation has been found particularly effective in removing a large number of persistent organics in water. In this study, photocatalytic degradation was explored for the removal of reactive azo-dye (textile dye), triclocarban (disinfectant), clopyralid (herbicide) and three endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) (estrone, 17ß-estradiol and 17α-ethinylestradiol) from synthetic effluents. The major factors affecting the photocatalytic processes including the initial concentration of the target compounds, the amount of catalyst, the light intensity, the type of catalyst, the electron acceptor, the irradiation time and the pH were studied. Other oxidation techniques including (O3, H2O2, UV) were also studied. Generally UV light is used in combination with titanium dioxide, as photocatalyst, to generate photoinduced charge separation leading to the creation of electron-hole pairs. The holes act as electron acceptors hence the oxidation of organics occur at these sites. These holes can also lead to the formation of hydroxyl radicals which are also effective oxidants capable of degrading the organics. The results obtained in this study indicated that photolysis (i.e. UV only) was found to have no effect on the degradation of reactive azo-dye (RO16). However, complete photocatalytic degradation of 20 mg/L (3.24×10-2 mM) RO16 was achieved in 20 minutes in the presence of 1g/L TiO2 Degussa P25 at pH 5.5. Comparison between various types of catalysts (i.e. Degussa P25, VP Aeroperl, Hombifine N) gave varied results but Degussa P25 was the most effective photocatalyst hence it was selected for this study. For RO16 the optimum catalyst concentration was 0.5 g/L TiO2 with initial concentration of 20 mg/L RO16. It was found that the disappearance of RO16 satisfactorily followed the pseudo first-order kinetics according to Langmuir-Hinshelwood (L-H) model. The rate constant was k= 0.0928 mol/min. Photodegradation of TCC was studied in 70%v acetonitrile: 30%v water solutions. UV light degraded TCC effectively and the reaction rates increased with decreasing initial concentration of TCC. UV/TiO2 gave unsatisfactory degradation of triclocarban (TCC) since only 36% were removed in 60 minutes with initial concentration of TCC 20 mg/L. The degradation of clopyralid and the EDCs was studied using three oxidation systems UV/TiO2, UV/H2O2 and O3. Complete degradation of clopyralid (3,6-DCP) was achieved with UV/TiO2 in about 90 minutes at an optimum catalyst concentration of 1g/L. Zero-order kinetics was found to describe the first stage of the photocatalytic reaction in the concentration range 0.078-0.521 mM. At pH 5 the rate constant was 2.09×10⁻⁶ ± 4.32×10⁻⁷ M.s⁻¹. Complete degradation of all the three EDCs was achieved with UV/H₂O₂ in 60 minutes at catalyst concentration of (2.94×10⁻² M). On the other hand complete degradation of the EDCs was achieved in just 2 minutes with ozonation. For high concentration EDCs, TiO₂/UV gave low efficiency of degradation as compared with ozone and H2O2/UV. First-order kinetics was found to describe the photocatalytic reaction of the EDCs.

Master of Science / Department of Chemical Engineering / Larry E. Erickson / Photocatalytic oxidation (PCO) is a promising and emerging technique in controlling indoor air contaminants, including volatile organic compounds (VOCs). It has broad air cleaning and deodorization applications in indoor environments ranging from residential and office buildings to healthcare and nursing facilities as well as spacecrafts, aircraft cabins and clean rooms in the agricultural and food industry. Numerous studies have been conducted to improve the effectiveness and performance of this technology. These include development of new configurations, energy-efficient catalysts and other parameters to control the process. However, only limited research has been conducted under realistic indoor environmental conditions. One of the most recent developments in photocatalysis is the synthesis of 2% C- and V-doped TiO[subscript]2, which is active under both dark and visible light conditions. However, like most research conducted in photocatalysis, the study on the reactivity of this catalyst has been performed only under laboratory conditions. This study investigated the possible application of the novel C and V co-doped TiO[subscript]2 in cleaning indoor air. Mathematical modeling and simulation techniques were employed to assess the potential use of some of the promising systems that utilize the catalyst (i.e., packed bed and thin films) as well as the effect of mass transfer limitations in the degradation of acetaldehyde, one of the VOCs that can be found in offices, residential buildings and other facilities.

Des substrats SERS, élaborés selon une approche simple et à moindre coût, ont été étudiéspour la détection sans marqueurs d’ADN en vue d’applications dans le domaine du diagnostic médical.Un protocole de réduction photocatalytique assistée chimiquement conduisant à des hétérostructuresAg°/TiO2 a été optimisé. Nohttp://star.theses.fr/editeur.jsp?tefId=58411&action=save#droitsus avons montré en quoi l’utilisation d’un agent encapsulant et d’uneprocédure de nucléation-croissance permettent de contrôler la formation et l’agrégation de NPs Ag° à lasurface de couches minces TiO2. L’agrégation contrôlée des NPs conduit à des points chauds induisantune très forte amplification de l’effet SERS. Les performances des substrats SERS ont tout d’abord étévalidées par détection Raman de la molécule modèle R6G. Des études de fond, portant sur la détectionde polybases dérivées des quatre nucléobases constituant la structure de l’ADN, adénine, cytosine,guanine et thymine, ont ensuite été réalisées. Le potentiel de détection des hétérostructures Ag°/TiO2 apermis l’indexation quasi-intégrale des bandes Raman des quatre polybases étudiées, modifiées ou nonavec des groupements NH2, et nous a permis de discuter des effets d’accrochage, d’orientation etd’agencement des molécules d’ADN sur les substrats SERS. Des études complémentaires ont finalementconfirmé le potentiel de nos hétérostructures en fournissant différents aperçus sur l’hybridation despolybases et l’association de différentes polybases sur un même substrat SERS. / SERS substrates, elaborated through a simple and low-cost procedure, have been studied forthe label-free detection of DNA in the view of applications in the medical diagnostic field. A chemicallyassisted photocatalytic reduction protocol leading to an Ag°/TiO2 heterostructure has been optimized.We have shown how the use of an encapsulating agent and a nucleation-growth procedure enable tocontrol the formation and aggregation of Ag° NPs at the surface of TiO2 thin films. The controlledaggregation of NPs leads to hot points inducing a very strong amplification of the SERS effect.Performances of the SERS substrate have first been evaluated through the Raman detection of the R6Gmodel molecule. Thorough studies dealing with the detection of polybases derived from the fournucleobases constituting the DNA structure, adenine, cytosine, guanine, and thymine, have then beenconducted. The detection potential of the Ag°/TiO2 heterostructure enabled a nearly exhaustiveindexation of the Raman bands for the four studied polybases, modified or not with NH2 groups, and todiscuss on binding, orientation, and ordering effects of the DNA molecules on the SERS substrate.Complementary studies finally enabled us to confirm the potential of our heterostructure by providingdifferent insights on the polybase hybridization and the association of different polybases on a sameSERS substrate.

Cotton stalk lignin extractions were performed via alkaline methods at different conditions. Crude and post treated cotton stalk lignins, olive mill wastewater and garlic stalk juice were examined in terms of antimicrobial activity. Antimicrobial lignin was isolated depending on alkaline extraction conditions. Lignin extracted at 60&deg / C exhibited significant antimicrobial effect towards both Escherichia coli and Bacillus pumilus. However different post treatments such as ultrasonication and TiO2-assisted photocatalytic oxidation did not result in antimicrobial compounds. Olive mill wastewater and garlic stalk juice exerted substantial antimicrobial effects towards tested microorganisms. Xylan-based biodegradable films containing lignin, garlic stalk juice, tannic acid and olive mill wastewater were characterized against both B. pumilus and E. coli by means of their antimicrobial activities. E. coli exhibited lesser sensitivity to all tested antimicrobial xylan films except tannic acid-integrated xylan film than B. pumilus. Antimicrobial lignin integrated-xylan film exhibited stronger effect towards tested microorganisms than tannic acid-integrated film. In the case of both antimicrobial lignin and tannic acid integrated xylan films, 4% was found to be the maximum antimicrobial compound percentage in film forming solutions to observe continuous film formation. Lignin samples with/without antimicrobial activity were characterized by means of their chemical structure via FTIR and LC-MS. FTIR results revealed that cotton stalk lignins were significantly broken down via alkaline treatment and this breakdown resulted in the formation of new fractions and also ester &amp / ether bonds between antimicrobial hydroxycinnamic acids and lignin were cleaved during the alkaline treatments of cotton stalk lignins. By FTIR results, C=C bonds were found to be characteristic for antimicrobial lignin sample and it was suggested that these bonds might be the reason of the antimicrobial activity. By LC-MS qualitative mass analysis, antibacterial lignin fractions were found to be quite different from non-antibacterial lignin fractions. LC-MS results indicated that the antimicrobial lignin fractions might be lignin-derived oligomers and/or might be flavonoids. Cotton stalk lignin fractions demonstrated different antimicrobial activities depending on the method of isolation and chemical treatment.

Des substrats SERS, élaborés selon une approche simple et à moindre coût, ont été étudiéspour la détection sans marqueurs d’ADN en vue d’applications dans le domaine du diagnostic médical.Un protocole de réduction photocatalytique assistée chimiquement conduisant à des hétérostructuresAg°/TiO2 a été optimisé. Nohttp://star.theses.fr/editeur.jsp?tefId=58411&action=save#droitsus avons montré en quoi l’utilisation d’un agent encapsulant et d’uneprocédure de nucléation-croissance permettent de contrôler la formation et l’agrégation de NPs Ag° à lasurface de couches minces TiO2. L’agrégation contrôlée des NPs conduit à des points chauds induisantune très forte amplification de l’effet SERS. Les performances des substrats SERS ont tout d’abord étévalidées par détection Raman de la molécule modèle R6G. Des études de fond, portant sur la détectionde polybases dérivées des quatre nucléobases constituant la structure de l’ADN, adénine, cytosine,guanine et thymine, ont ensuite été réalisées. Le potentiel de détection des hétérostructures Ag°/TiO2 apermis l’indexation quasi-intégrale des bandes Raman des quatre polybases étudiées, modifiées ou nonavec des groupements NH2, et nous a permis de discuter des effets d’accrochage, d’orientation etd’agencement des molécules d’ADN sur les substrats SERS. Des études complémentaires ont finalementconfirmé le potentiel de nos hétérostructures en fournissant différents aperçus sur l’hybridation despolybases et l’association de différentes polybases sur un même substrat SERS. / SERS substrates, elaborated through a simple and low-cost procedure, have been studied forthe label-free detection of DNA in the view of applications in the medical diagnostic field. A chemicallyassisted photocatalytic reduction protocol leading to an Ag°/TiO2 heterostructure has been optimized.We have shown how the use of an encapsulating agent and a nucleation-growth procedure enable tocontrol the formation and aggregation of Ag° NPs at the surface of TiO2 thin films. The controlledaggregation of NPs leads to hot points inducing a very strong amplification of the SERS effect.Performances of the SERS substrate have first been evaluated through the Raman detection of the R6Gmodel molecule. Thorough studies dealing with the detection of polybases derived from the fournucleobases constituting the DNA structure, adenine, cytosine, guanine, and thymine, have then beenconducted. The detection potential of the Ag°/TiO2 heterostructure enabled a nearly exhaustiveindexation of the Raman bands for the four studied polybases, modified or not with NH2 groups, and todiscuss on binding, orientation, and ordering effects of the DNA molecules on the SERS substrate.Complementary studies finally enabled us to confirm the potential of our heterostructure by providingdifferent insights on the polybase hybridization and the association of different polybases on a sameSERS substrate.

TiO2 nanoparticles are one of the most suitable materials for photocatalysis, specifically for water and air treatment and removal of a wide variety of organic pollutants such as dyes, aromatic compounds, and chlorinated aromatic compounds. Methods of synthesis of TiO2 are generally categorized in two main classes of wet chemical, and dry methods. Wet chemical methods generally provide a better control over size, size distribution, and shape; all of which significantly affect photocatalytic performance of the produced nanoparticles. Despite its advantages over other semiconductor photocatalysts, wide band-gap of titania restrains its photocatalytic activity to only UV light, which only makes up to 5% of the light reaching surface of the earth. To induce visible-light activity, titania has been doped by different dopants, including transition metal-dopants such as Fe, and Co and non-metal dopants such as N, and C. Nitrogen has been shown to be a better dopant, providing a suitably placed energy state within the band-gap of TiO2, and not suffering from issues related to transition-metal dopants such as low thermal and physical stability and high electron-hole recombination rates. To dope titania with nitrogen, one could add the nitrogen source together with other precursors during synthesis, referred to as wet chemical doping methods, or anneal the synthesized titania nanoparticles under a flow of ammonia at high temperatures, referred to as dry doping methods. While different doping methods have been studied individually, the author maintains that there has been an absence of research comparing the effectiveness of these methods, on photocatalytic performance of N-doped TiO2 within a consistent experiment. In this research TiO2 nanoparticles were synthesized by a facile, inexpensive sol-gel method, and doping was done by wet chemical methods, dry methods, and a combination of both these methods. Visible-light photocatalytic activity of these nanoparticles was evaluated by their efficiency in degradation of methyl orange. The results show wet doping methods increase the efficiency of titania nanoparticles more than dry doping, or combination of both. Further investigation showed that the main reason for higher activity of wet chemically doped nanoparticles is due to their higher available surface area of 131.7 m2.g-1. After normalizing the available surface area, measured by the BET method, it was shown that a combination of wet chemical doping, and dry doping at 600 °C result in the most active nanoparticles, but high temperature dry doping severely decreases the surface area, lowering the overall efficiency of the product. Additionally, N-doped TiO2 nanoparticles were synthesized using a simple hydrothermal method, in which the nitrogen source was used not only to dope, but also to control shape, size, size distribution, and morphology of the titania nanoparticles, and to induce aqueous colloidal stability. It was shown that addition of triethylamine during the synthesis, results in ultra-small, colloidally stable, cubic TiO2 nanoparticles, while using triethanolamine results in formation of TiO2 pallets, assembled into spherical, rose-like structures. The synthesized nanoparticles show impressive efficiency in visible-light removal of phenol, 4-chlorophenol, and pentachlorophenol, achieving 100% degradation of a 100-ppm phenol solution in 90 min, more than 98% degradation of a 20-ppm 4-chlorophenol solution in 90 min, and 97% degradation of a 10-ppm pentachlorophenol in 180 min with 500 ppm loading of the catalyst in all cases. Moreover, synthesized nanoparticles showed no sign of deactivation after 5 consecutive runs, removing 4-chlorophenol, showing their reusability. / Graduate

Des oxydes semi-conducteurs, en particulier TiO2 commercialement disponible ou des échantillons mésoporeux synthétisés, ont été testés comme photocatalyseurs de l'oxydation ménagée et aérobie d'alcools dans l'acétonitrile sous UV. L'alcool benzylique a été oxydé principalement en benzaldéhyde (rendement = 60%) en présence de TiO2-P25. Malheureusement, ce catalyseur tend à se désactiver. Le rôle du dioxygène dans le processus d'oxydation a été souligné après avoir testé différents solvants. Les alcools aliphatiques ont également été étudiés. Ainsi, le cyclohexanol a donné principalement de la cyclohexanone (rendement = 70%). Parallèlement, une approche colloïdale a été développée pour déposer les nanoparticules d'oxyde de titane sur des supports de silice mésoporeux SBA-15 transparents aux UV afin d'éviter les phénomènes d'agrégation lors des tests. Après optimisation de leur synthèse (quantité d'eau, nature de l'acide et de l'alcool), des nanoparticules sphériques non cristallines stables de 5 nm de diamètre ont été obtenues. En utilisant la méthode d'imprégnation à "deux solvants", ces dernières ont été introduites avec succès dans les mésopores de deux échantillons de SBA-15, l'un avec un diamètre moyen des pores de 6 nm, l'autre de 8. Les analyses MET ont souligné que le matériau SBA-15 avec les pores les plus grands a conduit à l'incorporation de davantage de nanoparticules. A priori, les interactions silice / oxyde de titane dans les matériaux résultants semblent favorables puisque les quantités inférieures de TiO2 dans les tests de photocatalyse correspondants ont conduit à de meilleurs taux de conversion que ceux obtenus avec P25 ou la suspension mère de colloïdes. / A series of metal oxides semiconductors, including commercially available TiO2 or synthesized mesoporous samples, were tested as photocatalysts for the aerobic mild oxidation of alcohols in acetonitrile under UV. Benzyl alcohol, used as a reference, was oxidized mainly into benzaldehyde. Best yield (60%) was obtained with TiO2-P25. Unfortunately, this catalyst tended deactivate with time. The role of dioxygen solubility in the oxidation process was emphasized through the test of different solvents. Aliphatic alcohols were also studied. Among them, cyclohexanol gave mainly cyclohexanone with a yield of 70%. Parallely, a colloidal approach was developed for the deposition of titanium oxide nanoparticles on UV transparent mesoporous silica supports in order to take advantage of their important specific surface area and avoid aggregation phenomena during the photocatalysis tests. After optimizing the synthesis protocol (amount of water, nature of the acid and alcohol), spherical, non-crystalline stable nanoparticles with 5 nm diameter were obtained. Using the “two-solvents” impregnation method, these particles were successfully introduced in the mesopores of two SBA-15 silica samples differing by their mean pore diameter (either 6 or 8 nm). TEM measurements emphasized that the SBA-15 material with the largest pores led to the incorporation of more nanoparticles in its mesopores. Clearly, silica/ titanium dioxide interactions in the resulting materials appeared to play a positive role since lower amounts of TiO2 in the corresponding photocatalysis tests led to improved conversion rates of benzylalcohol compared to those performed with P25 or the parent suspension of colloids.