AUTHOR=Kumar Chennam Pavan , Sepúlveda Marcela , Rihova Martina , Alijani Mahnaz , Kachlík Martin , Zazpe Raul , Pavlinak David , Maca Karel , Macak Jan M. 

TITLE=Carbon fibers decorated with TiO2 nanoparticles for photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue dye

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Nanotechnology

VOLUME=6

YEAR=2024

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/nanotechnology/articles/10.3389/fnano.2024.1483917

DOI=10.3389/fnano.2024.1483917

ISSN=2673-3013

ABSTRACT=<p>This report demonstrates the development of carbon fibers (CFs) decorated with TiO<sub>2</sub> nanoparticles (NPs) as an efficient photocatalyst for the photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue (MB) as a model dye. Carbon fibers were produced by carbonization of polyacrylonitrile fibers, previously produced by centrifugal spinning. Subsequently, the CFs were decorated with TiO<sub>2</sub> NPs (CFs@TiO<sub>2</sub>) by tailored soaking protocol using aqueous TiCl<sub>4</sub> solution with different concentrations (0.025, 0.05, 0.1, and 0.2 M). SEM analyses revealed that soaking in TiCl<sub>4</sub> produced a smooth, conformal, continuous TiO<sub>2</sub> nanoparticulate coating with thickness increasing from 40.4 ± 21.2 to 257.9 ± 63.9 nm with increasing TiCl<sub>4</sub> concentration. X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy confirmed the anatase nature of TiO<sub>2</sub>. Photocatalytic decomposition rates of MB were assessed under UV light illumination for all CFs@TiO<sub>2</sub> samples, and it was revealed that the lowest amount of TiO<sub>2</sub> NP on C yielded the highest rates. The synergistic interaction between CFs and TiO<sub>2</sub> NPs with a uniform morphology and a well-crystalline anatase structure, present in an optimal amount of fiber bodies, is the key reason for the remarkable photocatalytic performance. This work shows that C fibers decorated with an optimal amount of TiO<sub>2</sub> NPs have a great potential as an effective photocatalytic material.</p>