Beaded ZnTiO3 fibers prepared by electrospinning and their photocatalytic properties

Abstract Beaded ZnTiO3 fibers have been fabricated by a combination of sol-gel, electrospinning and calcination techniques. The ZnTiO3 can be obtained by calcining at 700°C for 3.5 h. The morphology and structure of the obtained photocatalytic material were characterized by various analytical techniques such as scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Their photocatalytic activity was evaluated by the decomposition of methyl violet dye solution under simulated solar light irradiation. The fibers exhibited a beaded-like morphology as shown in the TEM image. The effect of different morphology including fibers and short fibers on the photocatalytic performance was also investigated. For the ZnTiO3 fibers and short fibers, almost all the dyes were degraded after 4 h and 3 h, respectively.