Preparation and photocatalytic activity of fly ash incorporated TiO2 nanofibers for effective removal of organic pollutants

Materials with photocatalytic and adsorption property, and antibacterial activity have been widely used in waste water treatment. Taking advantages of TiO2 as a well known photocatalyst and antibacterial material, and fly-ash (FA) as an adsorbent, fly ash doped TiO2 nanofibers were prepared by electrospinning process for the removal of organic pollutant and microorganism from water. Calcination of electrospun nanofiber mats composed of titanium tetraisopropoxide, poly(vinylpyrrolidine), and fly ash in air at 600 C led to produce good morphology FA/TiO2 nanofiber. Several analytical techniques, including scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and photoluminescence spectroscopy (PL) were used to characterize the resulting FA/TiO2 nanocomosites. Assynthesized nanofiber revealed a distinct performance in adsorption and photocatalytic activity for decomposition of methylene blue, and antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli due to combined effect of TiO2 and fly ash. Results indicated that as-synthesized composite nanofibers exhibit great potential for water purification. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd and Techna Group S.r.l. All rights reserved.