The composition of photocatalytic nanofibres through electrospinning

• Main Author: Farao, Al Cerillio
• Other Authors: Petrik, Leslie
• Language: en
• Published: University of the Western Cape 2014
• Subjects: Anatase phase; Amorphous phase; Electrospinning; Nanofibres; Photocatalytic degradation; Photocatalysis; Photonic efficiency; Titanium dioxide
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/11394/3931

>Magister Scientiae - MSc === The aim of this study was to enrich electrospun fibres with the active mineral phase TiO2 nanoparticles and then to evaluate how well the composite fibres performed in the photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue (MB). Electrospun hydrophobic PAN polymer fibres were used as support structures for the TiO2 nanoparticles. The photocatalytic activity of the TiO2 enriched fibres for dye degradation was evaluated and the effect of external stressors on the fibres was assessed. A comparison was also made to determine whether the TiO2 - photocatalyst catalyst should be coated on top of, or loaded inside the electrospun PAN fibres