TiO₂ nanoparticle decorated carbon nanofibers for removal of organic dyes

To immobilize titania (TiO₂) in a matrix and improve the photocatalytic efficiency, TiO₂ nanoparticles decorated carbon nanofibers (TiO₂-D-CNF) were prepared by ultra- sonication induced adsorption of TiO₂ nanoparticles onto the surface of electrospun polyacrylonitrile (PAN) nanofibers, followed by first heat treatment in air and then calcination in nitrogen. The interfacial collision under ultrasonication was responsible for uniform decoration of TiO₂ nanoparticles on polymer nanofibers. However, TiO₂ nanoparticles were mainly located inside the carbon nanofibers (TiO₂-I-CNF) and only some aggregates were observed on the nanofiber surface if the nanofiber composite was obtained by electrospinning the mixed polymer solution containing the nanoparticles. It was found that TiO₂-D-CNF possessed both higher dye adsoption capacity and photo- catalytic efficiecy than TiO₂-I-CNF due to its hierachical microstructure. The exposure of TiO₂ nanoparticles on the CNF surface was beneficial for the adsorption of pollutant and thus photocatalytic performance.