Macroscopic TiO2–SiO2 porous beads: Efficient photocatalysts with enhanced reusability for the degradation of pollutants

[Display omitted] •A procedure for the synthesis of TiO2–SiO2 macroscopic porous beads was developed.•The TiO2–SiO2 beads showed higher TON than P25 TiO2 in the degradation of phenol.•The separation and reuse of the TiO2–SiO2 porous beads is highly efficient.•A balance between high specific surface area and TiO2 content determines the optimum activity. A series of TiO2–SiO2 photocatalysts in the shape of macroscopic spherical beads (300–500μm) with highly porous structure and different amount of TiO2 as active phase was synthesized using a polymeric bead-shaped resin as template. The materials were characterized by a combination of techniques (SEM, TEM, XRD, N2-physisorption, UV–Vis and FTIR spectroscopy) to correlate their physicochemical properties with their photocatalytic activity in the degradation of phenol and methylene blue under UV irradiation. The innovative shape of these photocatalysts allows straightforward separation and recycling of the material without centrifugation or filtration steps, thus circumventing one of the major issues of TiO2 in powder form. The optimum activity of the bead-shaped photocatalysts is determined by a balance between high specific surface area and TiO2 content. The most active among the synthesized TiO2–SiO2 porous bead materials showed higher photocatalytic turnover compared to P25 TiO2.