Fabrication of V-Doped TiO₂ Nanofibers and Their Photocatalytic Property

The V-TiO₂ (V-doped TiO₂)/cellulose acetate nanofibers with the diameter of (200 ± 53) nm were fabricated via an electrospinning technique using vanadium chloride and titanium tetra-isopropoxide as precursors, cellulose acetates as a fiber template, and N,N-dimethylformamide/ acetone (volume ratio is 1:2) as a co-solvent. The V-TiO₂/cellulose acetate nanofibers were transformed into V-TiO₂/cellulose nanofibers after treated with 0.1 mol/L NaOH/ethanol solution. The V-TiO₂ nanofibers were obtained via calcination of V-TiO₂/ cellulose nanofibers at 500 for 5 h. The structure and morphology of nanofibers were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and UV–Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, respectively. The photocatalytic activity of nanofibers toward the decomposition of rhodamine B was investigated. The results show that the light absorption efficiency is enhanced, and the photorespones are broadened by doping V according to the wavenumber at peak absorption. The degradation rate for the decomposition of rhodamine B by V-TiO₂ and TiO₂ nanofibers for 20 min is 67% and 77%, respectively.