Flexible TiO2 ceramic fibers near-infrared reflective membrane fabricated by electrospinning

Abstract Titanium oxide is a potential high temperature reflective material due to its high melting point, large refractive index, and suitable band gap. The flexible TiO 2 ceramic fibers membrane was successfully fabricated by sol–gel method using the polyacetylacetonetitanium (PAT) as the precursor. In order to obtain high-quality TiO 2 fibers, the PAT precursor with good stability and good spinnability was optimized by adjusting the molar ratio of acetylacetone to Ti to 1:1. The TiO 2 fibers heat-treated at 700 °C had a diameter of 400–500 nm. The crystal phase of TiO 2 fibers was anatase, and the surface of fibers was smooth without obvious defects. In addition, the TiO 2 ceramic fibers membrane heat-treated at 700 °C had good flexibility and tensile strength, and the average reflectance in the wavelength range of 500–2500 nm was up to 91.3%. The fibers membrane exhibits a significant reflection effect in the practical experiments and maintained good morphology of the fibers after 1200 °C test.