The effect of ZIF-8 on the phase structure and morphology of bead-like CuMn2O4/ZnO photocatalystic electrospun nanofibers

Uniform bead-like CuMn2O4/ZnO nanofibers were successfully fabricated via a facile electrospinning technology. The current new findings can be emphasized on the introduction of ZIF-8 into Cu-based precursor solution that had a great significance for controlling phase structure and morphology of CuMn2O4/ZnO composites. Compared with hollow CuMn2O4 nanofibers and CuMn2O4/ZnMn2O4 irregular rod-like materials, CuMn2O4/ZnO nanofibers can display the enhanced photocatalytic efficiency of 86% as the irradiation time increasing to 50 min and the good photocatalytic cycle stability to methylene blue (MB). The influence of adding amount of ZIF-8 on the morphological evolution and photocatalytic property of CuMn2O4/ZnO nanofibers and the relevant photocatalytic mechanism were investigated. The synthesis approach of CuMn2O4/ZnO nanofibers is expected for fabricating other 1D semiconductor composites with novel morphologies and advanced properties in photocatalysis, gas sensing, and electrochemical applications. (C) 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.