Preparation of one-dimensional TiO2 nanoparticles within polymer fiber matrices by electrospinning

One-dimensional TiO2 nanoparticles within polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) fiber matrices were prepared via coupling sol-gel method and electrospinning. TEM analysis indicated that TiO2 nanoparticles chain was in the middle of PVP fiber and dispersed linearly along the fiber direction, which originated from the effect of polarization and orientation caused by high electric field. With the increase of the concentration of sol-gel precursor in the electrospinning solution, the diameter of nanoparticles in resulting fibers decreased from 60 to 13 nm. This composite nanomaterial will have potential applications in photoluminescent (PL), electroluminescent (EL) and non-linear optical devices, flat panel displays, photocathodes for solar and so on. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.