Abstract

Numerous reports have elucidated that TiO2 nanoparticles (TiO2-NPs) exhibit respectable photocatalytic degradation capacities due to their high specific surface areas. However, the current recovery process leads to a loss of TiO2-NPs; therefore, there is a need to immobilize TiO2-NPs on the substrate used. Herein, TiO2-coated yttria-stabilized zirconia/silica nanofiber (TiO2-coated YSZ/silica NF) was prepared by coating TiO2 on the surface of YSZ/silica NF using a sol–gel process. The TiO2 coating layer on the nanofiber surface improved the separation ability of the membrane as well as the photocatalytic degradation ability. The pore size of the TiO2-coated YSZ/silica NF membrane was less than that of the pristine YSZ/silica NF membrane, and it rejected over 99.6% of the 0.5 μm polymeric particles. In addition, the TiO2-coated YSZ/silica NF membrane showed excellent adsorption/degradation of humic acid (HA, 88.2%), methylene blue (MB, 92.4%), and tetracycline (TC, 99.5%). Six recycling tests were performed to evaluate the reusability of the TiO2-coated YSZ/silica NF membrane. The adsorption/degradation efficiency for HA, MB, and TC decreased by 3.7%, 2.8%, and 2.2%, respectively. We thus verified the high separation ability, excellent photocatalytic degradation ability, and excellent reusability of the TiO2-coated YSZ/silica NF membranes.

Highlights

  • Numerous reports have elucidated that ­TiO2 nanoparticles ­(TiO2-NPs) exhibit respectable photocatalytic degradation capacities due to their high specific surface areas

  • The field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) micrographs show the change in the diameter ­(TiO2 coating layer plus YSZ/ silica NF diameter) depending on the TTIP concentration

  • This indicates that the T­ iO2 coating layer increased as the TTIP concentration raised

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Summary

Introduction

Numerous reports have elucidated that ­TiO2 nanoparticles ­(TiO2-NPs) exhibit respectable photocatalytic degradation capacities due to their high specific surface areas. Electrospinning technology has numerous advantages including the provision of (1) a wide selection of materials, (2) a controllable pore structure, (3) high interconnectivity, and (4) the fabrication of complex ­structures[1,2,3] For these reasons, electrospun nanofibers have been applied in various environmental fields such as (1) water and air purification membranes (or filters)[4,5,6], (2) ­photocatalysts[7], (3) ­adsorption[8], and (4) gas ­sensors[9]. The loss of ­TiO2-NPs causes secondary water pollution, low reproducibility, and reduced photocatalytic degradation e­ fficiency[21,22] To address these disadvantages, various studies have been conducted where T­ iO2-NPs are immobilized on various substrates (membranes or filters)[23,24,25,26,27,28]

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