Composite of TiO2 nanoparticles and carbon nanotubes loaded on poly (methyl methacrylate) nanofibers: Preparation and photocatalytic performance

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are widely used in the preparation of composite functional materials with improved performance due to their unique electrical, mechanical properties and one-dimensional nanostructure. In this paper, the composite of TiO2 nanoparticles and acid-treated carbon nanotubes distributed on poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) nanofibers was fabricated by sequential treatments of electrospinning, hydrothermal synthesis and freeze-drying. The resulting ternary composite of TiO2/CNTs/PMMA, which is featured with a specific surface area of 83.2 m(2)/g, effectively photodegraded a series of dyes, such as methyl blue, Rhodamine B, Sulforhodamine B and methyl orange (MO). In particular, complete degradation of MO (10 mg/L, 100 mL) was accomplished with TiO2/CNTs/PMMA (20 mg) in 40 min under UV irradiation. Moreover, the high photocatalytic activity of the ternary composite, which is superior to that of TiO2/PMMA, did not deteriorate during consecutive photodegradation tests up to ten runs. The photocatalytic mechanism of TiO2/CNTs/PMMA has been explored. The desirable high photocatalytic activity, excellent stability and easy recyclability of the ternary composite is attributed to the introduction of CNTs and the electrospun PMMA nanofiber support.