New Preparation Route of TiO₂ Nanofibers by Electrospinning: Spectroscopic and Thermal Characterizations

The newly designed preparation route of the crystalline TiO₂ nanofibers by electrospinning was described. Relationships between calcination temperature and the precursor amount for the transition of titanium (IV) isopropoxide (Ti(Iso)) to crystalline titanium dioxide (TiO₂) were thoroughly studied. The electrospinning solutions were obtained by adding the increasing amount of Ti(Iso) as a precursor, together with acetic acid to the 10 wt% Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP)/ethanol solution. The effect of Ti(Iso) concentration on structural and morphological characteristics of PVP/Ti(Iso) and obtained TiO₂ nanofibers were investigated by various methods; Attenuated Total Reflectance-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy-(FTIR-ATR), Raman and XRD spectroscopy, Thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Physical adsorption of nitrogen. SEM image of the calcinated sample showed that resulting TiO₂ nanofibers were obtained with a diameter of ≈150 nm after calcination at 450 °C. Raman measurements evidenced the formation of TiO₂ nanofibers in anatase form. It was proved by photo-electrochemical measurements that the resulted TiO₂ nanofibers layer really reflects the ability to react to a UV light signal by generating of the charge carriers, which is promising for any subsequent applications.