In-situ growth of titania nanoparticles in electrospun polymer nanofibers at low temperature

Xiangfu Meng, Nan Luo, Shengli Cao, Shimin Zhang, Mingshu Yang*, Xiao Hu

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

25 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

In-situ growth of titania nanoparticles in poly (ethylene terephthalate) (PET) nanofibers has been successfully achieved by combining sol-gel method and electrospinning process. Titania precursor, tetra-n-butyl titanate (TBT), was firstly hydrolyzed in trifluoroacetic acid (TFA), and then blend with a solution of PET in mixture of trifluoroacetic acid/dichloromethane (TFA/DCM) to form a homogeneous solution for electrospinning. Titania nanoparticles in-situ generated in the electrospun nanofibers via a hydrothermal treatment process at 70 °C-90 °C. The morphology and crystallinity of PET/TiO2 hybrid nanofibers were investigated using TEM and DSC. The results showed that titania nanoparticles of anatase phase with an average diameter of about 10 nm in-situ generated both inside and on the surface of PET electrospun nanofibers. The reversible networks formed between titania nanoparticles and PET macromolecular chains led to considerable decrease of PET crystallinity.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1401-1403
Number of pages3
JournalMaterials Letters
Volume63
Issue number16
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jun 30 2009
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus Subject Areas

  • General Materials Science
  • Condensed Matter Physics
  • Mechanics of Materials
  • Mechanical Engineering

Keywords

  • Electrospinning
  • Nanoparticles
  • Poly (ethylene terephthalate)
  • Sol-gel
  • TiO

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