Morphology and crystalline phase study of electrospun TiO₂-SiO₂ nanofibres

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.