Facile production of a large-area flexible TiO2/carbon cloth for dye removal

Abstract

Through the precoating of TiO₂ on carbon fiber sheet and the subsequent hydrothermal reaction of the coated species with NaOH and tetrabutyl titanate, we successfully demonstrated the engineering growth of TiO₂ nanofibers on carbon fiber sheet. The resulting cloth exhibits excellent flexibility and enables robust, large-area (∼300 cm²) fabrication, representing a significant advantage over previous brittle, small area nanofibrous macroscopic structures. The adsorption and photodecomposition of Rhodamine B in water showed that the resulting cloth is very convenient for the purification of contaminated water owing to its combined adsorption and cleaning function. This work provides new insight into the construction of a large area, flexible and robust water purification membrane material.