Preparation of PAN-based electrospun nanofiber webs containing TiO2 for photocatalytic degradation

In this study, electrospun polyacrylonitrile (PAN)-based nanofiber webs containing TiO2 were prepared and tested to make an easy operation of photodegradation effective. The nanofiber webs containing TiO2 were characterized by SEM, XRD and EDX analysis. The results reveal that the fibers contain anatase crystallized titania (TiO2) particles on the fiber walls. The electrospun PAN-based fiber webs containing titania were evaluated for the photodecomposition of dye rhodamine B under UV light. The characteristic which makes electrospun PAN-based fiber webs containing titania floating might improve the irradiation efficiency. (c) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.