A simple route to disperse silver nanoparticles on the surfaces of silica nanofibers with excellent photocatalytic properties

In this work, monodispersed silver nanoparticles decorated SiO2 nanofibers were synthesized by electrospinning method, followed by thermal treatment at 600 °C. Powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were used to characterize the composite nanofibers. Accordingly, the detailed formation mechanism of SiO2/Ag composite nanofibers was discussed. Furthermore, an excellent catalytic activity of SiO2/Ag composite fibers was observed by a degradation reaction of methyl orange (MO) dye.

Graphical abstractThe SiO2/Ag composite nanofibers have been prepared by electrospinning and thermal decomposition of hybrid nanofibers, which exhibit a good catalytic property in reducing the methyl orange dye.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slideHighlights► Hydrochloric acid was used as the catalyst of tetraethyl orthosilicate. ► Silver nanoparticles are obtained by pyrolysis of silver chloride. ► PVP–silica hybrid can disperse silver chloride and thus preventing the aggregation of silver nanoparticles. ► The catalytic activity of SiO2/Ag composite nanofibers is much larger than that of SiO2 nanofibers.