Synthesis and Characterization of Magnetic TiO2 Hollow Nanofibers via Electrospinning Assisted Sol-Gel Process

Abstract

The PVP/Fe3O4/TBT composite nanofibers have been successfully fabricated via a facile electrospinning assisted sol-gel process, and magnetic TiO2 hollow nanofibers are obtained by the calcination process. The effects of TBT and Fe3O4 dosage on the morphologies and hollow structure of nanofibers are systematically investigated. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) demonstrated that the magnetic TiO2 nanofibers had a hollow structure with the average diameter of 200 nm. XRD results exhibited that magnetic TiO2 hollow nanofibers with well crystallized anatase phase were obtained. Both the hollow structure and well crystallized anatase phase of TiO2 nanofibers play very important role in photocatalytic activity. Moreover, the magnetic test demonstrated TiO2 hollow nanofibers possessed an excellent magnetic responsiveness, which facilitated the separation of TiO2 hollow nanofibers.