Preparation and Characterization of Electrospun TiO2 Nanofibers via Electrospinning

Abstract

In this work, titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanofibers were synthesized by a combination of electrospinning and calcinations process using a solution that contained poly(vinyl pyrolidone)(PVP) and titanium isopropoxide. Titanium isopropoxide/PVP composite fibers were investigated at different titanium isopropoxide concentrations and voltages. The fibers were characterized by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). SEM images showed that the morphology of as-spun TiO2 nanofibers are smooth, uniform and good continuous fiber morphology with fiber diameters of 150–290 nm when calcined of 600°C for 1 h in air. XRD patterns revealed that the crystallinity corresponded to TiO2 in the form of rutile structure. The fiber diameters were slightly decreased with increase of the applied voltages and the titanium tetraisopropoxide concentration.