Formation of TiO2 nano-fiber doped with Gd3+ and its photocatalytic activity

Abstract Titanium dioxide (TiO2) nano-fibers doped with Gd3+ were synthesized by two-step synthesis method. The formed fibers were visualized from transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The results showed that the average diameter of the TiO2 nano-fibers was 60–80 nm and the length of fibers was in the range of 6–7 μm. The TiO2 nano-fibers doped with Gd3+ heat treated in glycerol solvent had smaller crystal size than those without heat treatment. However, the size of TiO2 nano-fibers decreased with increasing the heating temperature. The results obtained in the photocatalytic degradation of methyl orange indicated that the photocatalytic activity of the TiO2 nano-fibers doped with Gd3+ appeared a little reduction relative to that of TiO2 nanopowders.