Preparation of Uniaxially Aligned TiO₂ Ultrafine Fibers by Electrospinning

TiO₂ nanofibers are often produced by electrospinning using a collector consisting of two parallel electrodes. In this work, a high speed rotating drum was used as a collector to produce uniaxially aligned TiO₂ ultrafine fibers. The apparatus to manufacture uniaxially aligned TiO₂ ultrafine fiber consisted of a high-speed roller, a high-voltage power supply, a controllable syringe pump and a syringe. Titanium (IV) isopropoxide and polyvinylpyrrolidone were used as precursor and auxiliary, respectively. Titanium (IV) isopropoxide and polyvinylpyrrolidone were well mixed with other essential reagents to form the polymer solution. The polymer solution was poured into the syringe and pumped at various flow rates. The electrospun ultrafine fibers collected on the roller were heat treated up to 600 °C and the uniaxially aligned TiO₂ ultrafine fibers were formed and characterized using scanning electron microscope and X-ray diffraction.