A novel and facile synthesis of Ag-doped TiO2 nanofiber for airborne virus/ bacteria inactivation and VOC elimination under visible light

There are strong demands for high biocidal and degassing performance of fibrous air filters, and the development of photocatalytic nanofiber operating under visible-light remains a challenge. We present a novel technique for the fabrication of TiO2 nanofibers (NFs) with Ag components concentrated on the fiber surface by inducing electrohydrodynamic transportation of Ag+ during electrospinning with negative electric potential. Unique localized Ag components on the surface of TiO2 were beneficial for providing visible-light-response ability, and for offering small crystallite size, low-bandgap energy and recombination rate for fast and efficient photocatalytic reaction in air media. As consequences, optimized Ag/TiO2 NFs exhibited remarkable ability for airborne bacteria and virus inactivation, as well as notable photocatalytic activity toward acetaldehydes under visible light. Moreover, this study presents a systematic comparison of Ag/TiO2 NFs and Ag/TiO2 NPs prepared by different electric potential and electrohydrodynamic methods.

Automated summary

In this study, a novel technique was presented to fabricate TiO2 nanofibers with localized silver components on the fiber surface. These nanofibers exhibited visible-light-response ability and had advantages such as small crystallite size, low-bandgap energy, and recombination rate, enabling efficient photocatalytic reactions.