TiO2/ZnO and ZnO/TiO2core/shell nanofibers prepared by electrospinning and atomic layer deposition for photocatalysis and gas sensing

In the present work, core TiO2 and ZnO oxide nanofibers were prepared by electrospinning, then shell oxide (ZnO, TiO2) layers were deposited on them by atomic layer deposition (ALD). The aim of preparing ZnO and TiO2 nanofibers, as well as ZnO/TiO2 and TiO2/ZnO nanocomposites is to study the interaction between the oxide materials when a pure oxide fiber is covered with thin film of the other oxide, and explore the influence of exchanging the core and shell materials on their photocatalytic and gas sensing properties. The composition, structure and morphology of the pure and composite nanofibers were studied by SEM-EDX, TEM, XRD, FTIR, UV-vis and Raman. The photocatalytic activity of the as-prepared materials was analyzed by UV-vis spectroscopy through decomposing aqueous methyl orange under UV irradiation. The gas sensing of the nanofibers was investigated by detecting 100 ppm NH3 at 150 and 220 degrees C using interdigital electrode based sensors. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.