Polymer fibers with magnetic core decorated with titanium dioxide prospective for photocatalytic water treatment

Abstract The present study is focused on the fabrication of magnetic poly(3-hydroxybutyrate)-based core–shell fibers decorated with titanium dioxide (TiO 2 ) as an original and simple approach for the development of novel and effective recyclable hybrid materials designed for purification of waters from organic pollutants. For the first time that was achieved successfully in one-step by simultaneous coaxial electrospinning and electrospraying. Coaxial electrospinning resulted in fabrication of fibers with a core of Fe 3 O 4 nanoparticles in poly(vinyl alcohol) and a shell of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) and poly(e-caprolactone). Simultaneously, the surface of electrospun core–shell fibers was purposely decorated with TiO 2 nanoparticles by electrospraying of an aqueous dispersion of nano-sized TiO 2 . The core–shell structure was evidenced by transmission electron and fluorescence microscopies. It was found that this structure and the presence of the inorganic components had an impact on the thermal properties and the crystallinity of the novel hybrid fibrous materials. Moreover, the prepared materials displayed magnetic properties and enhanced tensile strength. Furthermore, the targeted decoration of TiO 2 nanoparticles provided excellent photocatalytic activity of the materials under UV light irradiation even after threefold use.