Fabrication of TiO2 micro-/nano-spheres embedded in nanofibers by coaxial electrospinning

• A novel structure with micro-/nano-spheres embedded in nanofibers was fabricated.
• The mechanisms of the TiO2 spheres embedded in nanofibers were discussed.
• High degradation rates were obtained because the structure has a high surface area.
• Large nanofiber gaps, which are beneficial for UV light utilization, were obtained.

A novel structure with TiO2 micro-/nano-spheres embedded in nanofibers was fabricated by coaxial electrospinning. The formation mechanism of the embedded structure and the effects of core flow rates on photocatalytic properties were investigated, and their photocatalytic properties were compared with the photocatalytic properties of nano-spheres and nanofibers. The micro-/nano-spheres were embedded in TiO2 nanofibers with different physical properties of core and shell spinning solutions. The specific surface area of the nanofibers improved to 23.852 m2/g, and the degradation rate for methylene blue increased to 91.56%. The novel structure has large nanofiber gaps. We obtained a high specific surface area for the micro-/nano-spheres, which present a loose structure and are conducive for UV injection to improve photocatalytic efficiency.

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