Abstract: The monolithic TiO₂ aerogel was sucessfully synthesized at ambient pressure through Sol-Gel technique with TBT as the raw material and its photocatalyst property for degradation of the aqueous emulsion of crude oil in the Bohai Sea was investigated. During the ambient drying process, aging liquor and pinhole drying technology were found to be critical to the properties of TiO₂ aerogels. It was shown that the pinhole drying was favorable in reducing the asymmetric stress on the framework of TiO₂ gel in the drying process and the TEOS-Ethanol or TBT-Ethanol solution as the aging liquor for TiO₂ wet-gel could enhance the strength of TiO₂ gel skeleton. Combining these effects, the cracking problem of TiO₂ alcohol gel in the drying could be solved and the high-performance TiO₂ aerogel monolith was eventually achieved. The most integrated TiO₂ aerogel block exhibited low density (0.184 g/cm³) and high specific surface area (389.5 m²/g). By calcinations at high temperature, the TiO₂ aerogels changed from amorphous to anatase structure. The photocatalytic properties of the heat-treated TiO₂ aerogels were investigated via the degradation experiment for the aqueous emulsion of crude oil in the Bohai Sea. The results of photocatalytic experiments showed that the catalytic degradation rate was up to 91% with the addition of TiO₂ aerogel of 400 mg/L.

Key words: TiO₂ aerogel, ambient pressure, pinhole drying, ageing, photocatalystic, crude oil degradation