Cone-shaped titanate immobilized on polyacrylonitrile nanofibers: hierarchical architecture for effective photocatalytic activity

Abstract

A new photocatalytic composite material, based on flexible functional polyacrylonitrile nanofibers (denoted as f-PAN NF), was developed by depositing composite layers of α-TiO₂ and cone-shaped titanate (H₂Ti₅O₁₁·3H₂O) successively. The α-TiO₂ coated on f-PAN NF as a seed accelerated the nucleation of titanate. Cone-shaped titanate deposited on α-TiO₂@f-PAN NF tightly at 35 °C with the assistance of cyanuric acid via Ostwald ripening. Due to the uniform distribution of cone-shaped titanate, the photocatalytic performance of hybrid f-PAN NF was remarkable under LED light irradiation and yielded additional photocatalytic applications as well. In addition, the composite photocatalyst exhibited better reusability and retrievability because of the special design involving a bonding between the nanofibers and layers.