Abstract:
The improvement of the photocatalytic efficiency of TiO2 nanofibers (NFs), prepared by
Electrospinning, is achieved by doping with Polyaniline. The nanocomposite of TiO2 and
Polyaniline (PANI) was synthesized by in situ polymerizations. TiO2 nanofiber was prepared by
the hydrothermal sol-gel method and PANI was synthesized by an oxidative polymerization
method. Morphological information of the prepared composites has been obtained from FESEM
and TEM. Images of the PANI-TiO2 nanocomposite show uniform coated fibrous type
morphological features. XRD patterns describe that, the crystalline structure for both TiO2
nanofiber and PANI/TiO2 composite. The vibrational bands present in the nanocomposite have
been identified from FTIR spectra. Thermal property is determined by TGA and DTG. Chemical
composition and elemental electronic state can be determined from X-ray photoelectron
spectroscopy. UV-Vis absorption spectra have been acquired in the range from 200 nm to 800 nm.
PANI/TiO2 composites cause a slight redshift of the peak at 365 and 408 nm red-shifts to 396 and
484 nm higher wavelength, respectively. The bandgap of the composites has been calculated from
the absorption spectra. The photocatalytic efficiency of prepared samples has been examined
through the degradation of methylene blue. Better photocatalytic efficiency of surface-modified
TiO2 NFs with PANI is attributed to their enhanced optical properties, therefore., it has the ability
to harvest the photon energy in the visible spectral range.
