Improvement the visible light photocatalytic activity of gold nanoparticle, Co2O3 and nitrogen doped TiO2 nanofibers

The electrospinning method is used for the first time to fabricate TiO2/Au/Co2O3/N nanofibers as a novel starting reagent. Gold nanoparticles (GNPs), Co2O3 nanoparticles and HNO3 with distinct weight ratios when combined with different amounts of polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP) were used as additives. Their effect as additive for improving TiO2 light absorption characteristics in the visible wavelengths was evaluated using spectrophotometry. The results demonstrated appreciable photocatalytic behavior. A 135 nm shift toward the larger wavelengths of 360-495 nm was observed for TiO2-GNP/Co2O3/N nanofibers compared to the TiO2 nanofibers. TiO2-GNP/Co2O3/N samples under blue light irradiation were shown to be sensitive to NO gas at room temperature at 3-10 ppm with a response of 2-22.