Fabrication of Novel Poly(Ethylene Terephthalate)/TiO_2 Nanofibers by Electrospinning and their Photocatalytic Activity

摘要

Novel functional poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET)/TiO_2 nanofibers have been prepared by electrospinning the homogeneous solution of PET and titania precursor, tetra-n-butyl titanate (TBT), in trifluoroacitic acid (TFA). In situ growth of TiO_2 nanoparticles in electrospun PET nanofibers has been successfully achieved via a simple hydrothermal process at low temperature. X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns showed that the crystalline phase of TiO_2 nanoparticles in PET electrospun nanofibers was anatase phase. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) observation revealed that anatase TiO_2 nanoparticles were uniformly dispersed both on the surface and inside of the PET nanofibers. The as-prepared PET/TiO_2 nanofibers showed highly photocatalytic activity and excellent reutilization properties in photodegradation of methyl orange.