Issue 1, 2023

Flexible-in-rigid polycrystalline titanium nanofibers: a toughening strategy from a macro-scale to a molecular-scale

Abstract

TiO2 nanomaterials, especially one-dimensional TiO2 nanofibers fabricated by electrospinning, have received considerable attention in the past two decades, for a variety of basic applications. However, their safe use and easy recycling are still hampered by the inherently subpar mechanical performance. Here, we toughened polycrystalline TiO2 nanofibers by introducing Al3+-species at the very beginning of electrospinning. The resultant long-and-continuous TiO2 nanofibers achieved a Young's modulus of 653.8 MPa, which is ca. 25-fold higher than that of conventional TiO2 nanofibers. Within each nanofiber, amorphous Al2O3-based oxide effectively hindered the coalescence of TiO2 nanocrystals and potentially repaired the surface groves. The solid-state 17O-NMR spectra further revealed the toughening strategy on a molecular scale, where relatively flexible Ti–O–Al bonds replaced rigid O–Ti–O bonds at the interfaces of TiO2 and Al2O3. Moreover, the modified TiO2 nanofibers exhibited superb sinter-resistance, without cracking over 900 °C, which was dynamically monitored by TEM. Therefore, flexible-in-rigid TiO2 fibrous mats can be facilely folded into 3D sponges through origami art. As a potential showcase, the TiO2 sponges were demonstrated as a duarable and renewable filtrator with a high filtration efficiency of 99.97% toward PM2.5 and 99.99% toward PM10 after working for 300 min. This work provides a rational strategy to produce flexible oxide nanofibers and gives an in-depth understanding of the toughening mechanism from the macro-scale to the molecular-scale.

Graphical abstract: Flexible-in-rigid polycrystalline titanium nanofibers: a toughening strategy from a macro-scale to a molecular-scale

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Communication
Submitted
09 Oct 2022
Accepted
23 Nov 2022
First published
25 Nov 2022

Mater. Horiz., 2023,10, 65-74

Flexible-in-rigid polycrystalline titanium nanofibers: a toughening strategy from a macro-scale to a molecular-scale

W. Fu, W. Xu, K. Yin, X. Meng, Y. Wen, L. Peng, M. Tang, L. Sun, Y. Sun and Y. Dai, Mater. Horiz., 2023, 10, 65 DOI: 10.1039/D2MH01255C

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