Photocatalytic Degradation of Methyl Orange, Eriochrome Black T, and Methylene Blue by Silica–Titania Fibers Aldama-Huerta, Omar Arturo Medellín-Castillo, Nahum A. Carrasco Marín, Francisco Reyes-López, Simón Yobanny Photocatalytic degradation Silica–titania fibers Dye degradation The photocatalytic activity of silica–titania (S-T) fibers synthesized via sol–gel and electrospinning was evaluated using methyl orange (MO), eriochrome black T (EB), and methylene blue (MB) as model dyes. Characterization by X-ray diffraction confirmed the presence of anatase and rutile TiO2 phases, while UV-Vis spectroscopy determined a bandgap energy of 3.2 eV. Scanning electron microscopy revealed fibers with an average diameter of 214 nm. Under UV irradiation, nearly complete dye removal (initial concentration: 30 mg/L; catalyst dosage: 0.1 g/L) was achieved within 8 h. The reaction kinetics followed the Langmuir–Hinshelwood model, with significant differences in apparent reaction rates (ka) among the dyes, attributable to their distinct structural and functional properties. This study establishes silica–titania fibers as a high-performance, highly versatile composite photocatalyst. Achieving 98% degradation efficiency, their key innovation is their fibrous morphology, which solves the critical problem of powder catalyst recovery. This enables a paradigm shift from simple lab efficiency to practical, sustainable application. 2025-12-15T11:19:08Z 2025-12-15T11:19:08Z 2025-11-13 journal article Aldama-Huerta, O.A.; Medellín-Castillo, N.A.; Carrasco Marín, F.; Reyes-López, S.Y. Photocatalytic Degradation of Methyl Orange, Eriochrome Black T, and Methylene Blue by Silica–Titania Fibers. Appl. Sci. 2025, 15, 12084. https://doi.org/10.3390/ app152212084 https://hdl.handle.net/10481/108807 10.3390/ app152212084 eng http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ open access Atribución 4.0 Internacional MDPI