Photocatalytic performance of electrospun CNT/TiO2 nanofibers in a simulated air purifier under visible light irradiation.

Abstract

The photocatalytic treatment of gaseous benzene under visible light irradiation was developed using electrospun carbon nanotube/titanium dioxide (CNT/TiO2) nanofibers as visible light active photocatalysts. The CNT/TiO2 nanofibers were fabricated by electrospinning CNT/poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) (PVP) solution followed by the removal of PVP by calcination at 450°C. The molar ratio of CNT/TiO2 was fixed at 0.05:1 by weight, and the quantity of CNT/TiO2 loaded in PVP solution varied between 30 and 60% wt. CNT/TiO2 nanofibers have high specific surface area (116m2/g), significantly higher than that of TiO2 nanofibers (44m2/g). The photocatalytic performance of the CNT/TiO2 nanofibers was investigated by decolorization of 1×10-5M methylene blue (MB) dye (in water solution) and degradation of 100ppm gaseous benzene under visible light irradiation. The 50-CNT/TiO2 nanofibers (calcined CNT/TiO2 nanofibers fabricated from a spinning solution of 50% wt CNT/TiO2 based on PVP) had higher MB degradation efficiency (58%) than did other CNT/TiO2 nanofibers and pristine TiO2 nanofibers (15%) under visible light irradiation. The photocatalytic degradation of gaseous benzene under visible light irradiation on filters made of 50-CNT/TiO2 nanofibers was carried out in a simulated air purifier system. Similar to MB results, the degradation efficiency of gaseous benzene by 50-CNT/TiO2 nanofibers (52%) was higher than by other CNT/TiO2 nanofibers and pristine TiO2 nanofibers (18%). The synergistic effects of the larger surface area and lower band gap energy of CNT/TiO2 nanofibers were presented as strong adsorption ability and greater visible light adsorption. The CNT/TiO2 nanofiber prepared in this study has potential for use in air purifiers to improve air treatment efficiency with less energy.