Morphology and crystalline phase study of electrospun TiO2 SiO2nanofibres

Nanofibres of TiO2–SiO2 (Ti:Si = 50: 50 mol%) with diameters of 50–400 nm were prepared by calcining electrospun nanofibres of polyvinyl acetate (PVac)/titania–silica composite as precursor. These PVac/titania–silica hybrid nanofibres were obtained from a homogenous solution of PVac with a sol–gel of titanium isopropoxide (TiP) and tetraethoxysilane by using the electrospinning technique. The nanofibres were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), wide-angle x-ray diffraction (WAXD), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) surface area. SEM, WAXD and FTIR results indicated that the morphology and crystalline phase of TiO2–SiO2 nanofibres were strongly influenced by the calcination temperature and the content of titania and silica in the nanofibres. Additionally, the BET results showed that the surface area of TiO2–SiO2 nanofibres was decreased with increasing calcination temperature and the content of titania and silica in nanofibres.