Polyacrylonitrile-TiO2 Fibers for Control of Gaseous Aromatic Compounds

Polyacrylonitrile (PAN)-supported titania (PAN-TiO2) fibers with different TiO2 to PAN ratios were prepared, and their feasibility for indoor air cleaning applications was examined. For all target aromatic compounds, the decomposition efficiencies of PAN-TiO2 fibers increased as the ratio of PAN:TiO2:N,N-dimethyl formamide increased. For the highest TiO2 ratio (1:1:9), the decomposition efficiencies of the PAN-TiO2 fibers were close to 100% for the target compounds over the 3-h photocatalytic process, whereas for the lowest TiO2 ratio (1:0.05:9), they were initially less than 30% and then gradually decreased to close to zero at the end of the 3-h photocatalytic process. The decomposition efficiencies revealed a descending trend, but photocatalytic reaction rates revealed an ascending trend with increasing initial concentration and stream flow rate. Overall, these findings suggested that the PAN-TiO2 fibers would be effectively used for indoor air aromatic compound cleaning, when operational conditions are optimized.