Synthesis of hierarchical hollow electrospun TiO2 nanofibers

Abstract In this study, we synthesized hierarchical hollow (HH) TiO2 nanofibers (NFs) using a simple single-spinneret electrospinning and etching process to form TiO2–SiO2 hybrid nanofibers (HNFs). The latter were prepared from a starting sol–gel solution consisting of titanium(IV) tert-butoxide and SiO2 nanoparticles (NPs) which were commercially available rather than prepared in situ. The SiO2 NPs were well dispersed in the TiO2–SiO2 HNFs, and the obtained TiO2 NFs after removal of the SiO2 NPs by NaOH etching showed hierarchically well-developed hollow structures. In the photocatalytic degradation of Rhodamine B, the HH TiO2 NFs showed significantly enhanced photocatalytic characteristics compared to pristine TiO2 NFs.