Electrospun nanofibers of V-doped TiO 2 with high photocatalytic activity

Abstract

In this work, V-doped TiO 2 nanofibers with different V contents have been fabricated by an electrospinning technique. The as-prepared nanofibers were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectra, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and UV–Vis diffuse reflectance (DR) spectroscopy. The results indicated that the V 4+ or V 5+ ions were successfully incorporated into the crystal lattice of anatase TiO 2 nanofibers. Meanwhile, the V doping could extend the visible light absorption of TiO 2 nanofibers. The photocatalytic experiments indicated that the obtained V-doped TiO 2 nanofibers possessed high activity for the photodegradation of organic pollutant methylene blue (MB). Especially, the 1.0 and 5.0 wt.% V-doped TiO 2 nanofibers exhibited the best catalytic activity under visible and ultraviolet (UV) light irradiation, respectively. Also, these nanofibers could be easily recycled without a decrease of the photocatalytic activity.