Hydrothermal Fabrication of Nanosheets on Electrospun Titanium Dioxide Nanofibers

TiO₂ nanofibers were fabricated using electrospinning using titanium (IV) butoxide and poly(vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP) as a precursor and an assistant polymer, respectively. The concentration of PVP was studied to improve fiber formation. Calcination was performed to eliminate PVP from the as-spun fibers and form TiO₂ nanofibers. Ammonia-assisted hydrothermal was used to fabricate TiO₂ nanosheets on the obtained electrospun TiO₂ nanofibers. The hydrothermal temperature was varied from 100 °C to 160 °C. Field emission-scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and N₂ adsorption (analyzed by the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) method) were used to investigate the morphological appearance and surface area of TiO₂ nanosheets. It was found that the morphology of TiO₂ nanosheets is influenced by the heat treatment temperature and TiO₂ nanofibers with TiO₂ nanosheets have larger surface areas compared with pristine electrospun TiO₂ nanofibers.