Synthesis of solid and hollow TiO2 nanofibers with electrospinning method

Abstract

Owing to its high stability and non-toxicity, TiO2 has gained immense attention as photocatalyst candidate for organic pollutant degradation through photogenerated radicals. As promising nanostructure, TiO2 nanofibers were found to be interesting with several advantages such as flexibility in its surface function, high mechanical stability, and very large surface area to volume ratio toward the light irradiation. In this study, solid and hollow TiO2 nanofibers were synthesized using electrospinning method. The obtained solid TiO2 nanofibers were characterized using scanning electron microscope − energy dispersive X-ray (SEM-EDX) that revealed morphological form with average diameter of (331.6 ± 148.4) nm and elemental composition of titanium (Ti), oxygen (O), and carbon (C) by 61.65%, 29.08%, and 9.27%. Meanwhile, SEM result also showed nanofibers form of polymeric template for hollow TiO2 nanofibers with average diameter of (460.1 ± 72.3) nm. Moreover, obtained hollow TiO2 nanofibers have similar results from previous studies.