Electrospun polyacrylonitrile (PAN) nanofibers were decorated with TiO2, ZnO and TiO2/ZnO nanoparticles for the first time to prepare flexible multifunctional nanofibrous membranes.

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

Cu 2 CoSnS 4 (CCTS) nanofibers have been fabricated by electrospinninga nd exhibit an excellent morphology with an average nanofiber diameter of 150 nm. Polyacrylonitrile (PAN) was used as templating polymer that leads to ad ecrease in imperfectionsi nt he crystalline nanofibers. CCTS and Cu 2 ZnSnS 4 (CZTS) nanofibers, based on abundanta nd environmental friendly elements, efficiently enhanced the rates of biphasic proton reduction in the presence of an organic solubilized electron donor, decamethylferrocene (DMFc). This work paves the way for the exploration of copper-based chalcogenides as electrocatalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction to replace noble metal Pt.The hydrogen evolutionr eaction( HER), which generates molecular hydrogen via water splitting, underpins several emerging clean-energy technologies. However, substantial materials and technological advancements are necessary to make widespread implementation of water splitting economically viable. Low-costa nd highly efficient earth-abundant catalysts to replace Pt-based materials for HER have attracted great interest in renewable energy research. Copper-based chalcogenides composed of non-toxic and earth-abundant elements show great potential in solar cell applications, [1,2] as electrocatalysts [3,4] and as photocatalysts for hydrogen evolution. [5][6][7] More recently,t he chalcogenides emiconductor compound Cu 2 ZnSnS 4 (CZTS) has been suggested as ac andidate for photocatalytic [5,6] and electrocatalytic [4] hydrogen evolution from water due to its high absorption coefficient, suitable band gap (1.5 eV), abundancy and nontoxicity.I th as also been reported that Cu 2 ZnSnS 1Àx Se x (CZTSeS) shows comparable or superior electrocatalytic activity relative to noble metal Pt in solar cells. [8] Among the family of chalcogenide-based semiconductors, Cu 2 CoSnS 4 (CCTS) is an analog alternative absorber with ab and gap in the range from 1.2 to 1.5 eV,w hich makes it ap roper material in energy-harvesting applications. [9][10][11] Most studies have focused on the synthesis of the Cu 2 -II-IV-VI 4