Synthesis and characterization of structure-controlled micro-/nanocomposite TiOfibers with enhanced photocatalytic activity

Abstract

A series of structure-controlled composite TiOfibers combining micro- and nanostructures (hereafter, micro-/nanocomposite) were fabricated using a combination of electrospinning and calcination methods, and their photocatalytic activities were investigated. Smooth microscale fibers were obtained by electrospinning a precursor solution containing tetrabutyl titanate and TiF TiOnanocrystals formed on the microfibers with the help of HF which was produced from the decomposition of TiFin calcination. The size and quantity of TiOnanocrystals can be controlled by tuning the mass ratio of TiFin the sol-gel precursor solutions and the calcination time. The obtained micro-/nanocomposite TiOfibers were found to exhibit enhanced photocatalytic properties when compared with the bare microfibers. These micro-/nanocomposite structures exhibit the advantages of both the nanocrystals and microfibers, which will lead to new developments in photocatalysis. © 2014 Chengcheng Liu et al.