Ultrafine hollow TiO2 nanofibers from core-shell composite fibers and their photocatalytic properties

Abstract The oxidized electrospun polyacrylonitrile (o-PAN) fibers are used as templates and formed core-shell composite fibers by coating a layer of TiO 2 sol. After calcination in air, hollow TiO 2 nanofibers (HTONFs) are fabricated by removing the PAN fibrous template for the photocatalyzed degradation of methylene blue (MB). Scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and Raman spectra are used to characterize the morphologies and structures of HTONFs. The effects of MB concentration, amount of TiO 2 , light intensity, pH and calcination temperatures on the reaction rate constant are investigated. At last, HTONFs is recycled by a simple method, and the reutilization for photocatalyzation is evaluated.