Synthesis and characterizations of titanium nitride nanofibers prepared using nitridation method

In this paper, titanium nitride nanofibers (TiN NFs) were successfully synthesized by nitridation of TiO2 nanofibers, in which the TiO2 nanofibers were prepared by using electrospinning method. The XRD patterns and Raman spectra indicate that transformation of TiO2 into TiN crystalline structure was succeeded at 900oC in ammonia at flow rate of 800 sccm in 60 mins. The SEM images show no significant change in morphology, however, surface of the sample annealed at 900oC becomes rougher compared to that of TiO2 nanofibers. The UV-vis absorption spectrum of TiN  illustrates a strong and broad absorption peak at 530 nm which covers entire visible part of the solar spectrum. The as-synthesized samples were used to test solar water evaporation and the results indicate that TiN nanofibers are great nano-heater sources to enhance water evaporation performance.