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Diameter‐Dependent Photocatalytic Activity of Electrospun TiO 2 Nanofiber
Author(s) -
Li Heping,
Zhang Wei,
Li Bin,
Pan Wei
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
journal of the american ceramic society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.9
H-Index - 196
eISSN - 1551-2916
pISSN - 0002-7820
DOI - 10.1111/j.1551-2916.2010.03841.x
Subject(s) - nanofiber , photocatalysis , electrospinning , materials science , scanning electron microscope , rhodamine b , titanate , aqueous solution , chemical engineering , rhodamine , nanotechnology , composite material , ceramic , polymer , chemistry , fluorescence , optics , catalysis , organic chemistry , physics , engineering
TiO 2 nanofibers with controllable diameters have been successfully fabricated by a facile electrospinning method. Their crystal structure and morphology features were monitored by X‐ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. The photocatalytic activity of TiO 2 nanofibers was evaluated by the photodecomposition of rhodamine B aqueous solution. It was found that the diameter of the nanofibers, controlled by changing the tetrabutyl titanate content in the precursor solution, plays an important role on the photocatalytic activity of TiO 2 nanofibers. There is an optimal value of diameter on the photocatalytic activity of TiO 2 nanofibers, which increases with the increasing of fiber diameter up to about 200 nm and then decreases. The mechanism may relate to the dynamics of electron/hole recombination on surface sites.