Controllable synthesis of novel hierarchical V2O5/TiO2 nanofibers with improved acetone oxidation performance

Abstract

A controllable strategy to fabricate novel hierarchical V₂O₅/TiO₂ nanofiber catalysts was proposed. The catalysts, which comprised primary TiO₂ nanofibers and secondary V₂O₅ nanoparticles, were fabricated by combining electrospinning and hydrothermal growth. The controllable synthesis process and possible formation mechanism were also demonstrated through a series of time-dependent experiments. The hierarchical V₂O₅/TiO₂ nanofiber catalysts were further applied in the oxidation of volatile organic compounds for the first time and were found to present a high oxidation performance for acetone. The morphological, structural, chemical characterization and catalytic performance analyses illustrated the highest catalytic activity was obtained from the synthesized V₂O₅/TiO₂ nanofiber catalyst with 5 wt% V₂O₅. This finding could be attributed to the combined effect of the specific hierarchical nanofibrous morphology, abundant oxygen vacancies, and appropriate vanadium concentration.