Enhanced photocatalytic activity of TiO2 nanofibers and their flexible composite films: Decomposition of organic dyes and efficient H2 generation from ethanol-water mixtures

Wu, M. C. and Sápi, András and Avila, A. and Szabó, Mária and Hiltunen, J. and Tóth, Géza and Kukovecz, Ákos and Kónya, Zoltán and Kordás, Krisztián (2011) Enhanced photocatalytic activity of TiO2 nanofibers and their flexible composite films: Decomposition of organic dyes and efficient H2 generation from ethanol-water mixtures. NANO RESEARCH, 4 (4). pp. 360-369. ISSN 1998-0124

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Abstract

TiO2 nanofibers decorated with Pt and Pd nanoparticles have been synthesized and studied in various photocatalytic processes. Excellent photocatalytic behavior in the decomposition of organic dyes in water, degradation of organic stains on the surface of flexible freestanding cellulose/catalyst composite films and in generation of hydrogen from ethanol using both suspended and immobilized catalysts are demonstrated. The performance of the nanofiber-based TiO2 materials is competitive with-and in some cases outperforms-their conventional nanoparticle-based counterparts. In all cases, Pd-decorated TiO2 nanoparticles and nanofibers proved to be more efficient than their Pt-based counterparts, which could be explained on the basis of the formation of nano-sized Schottky interfaces at the contacts between TiO2 and metal nanoparticles. The feasibility of forming cellulose/catalyst composites provides a novel way of utilizing photocatalyst materials in large-area coatings and freestanding films.

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