Preparation of Ultrafine TiO₂ Nanofibers and their Application in Removal of NO_x in Air

Titanium dioxide nanofibers were fabricated by electrospinning technique. The titania solutions were obtained from adding various types of Ti precursor (Ti(OBu)4, Ti(OiPr)4, and Ti(OPr)4) to an ethanol solution containing polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP). Acetic acid was used to stabilize the solution and to control the hydrolysis reaction. The porous and well-defined crystalline structure was obtained after calcined at 450oC for 1 h. The thermal behavior, phase composition including crystallite size, as well as the morphology of as-synthesized nanofibers was obtained from thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), respectively. The average diameter of these nanofibers was in the range from 100 to 400 nm depending on titania precursor. The photocatalytic activity of TiO2 fibers were evaluated for NOx degradation in a gaseous phase. The results demonstrated that at the same catalyst loading, the photocatalytic activity of TiO2 nanofiber was higher than the commercial Degussa P-25.