In situ Formation of TiO₂ in Electrospun Poly(methyl methacrylate) Nanohybrids

Abstract

TiO2 nanoparticles were in situ generated in one-dimensional poly(methyl methacrylate) PMMA nanohybrid fibers with excellent dispersion by using electrospinning combined with a sol–gel method followed by a mild hydrothermal treatment that preserves the properties of the polymer to the maximum degree. Detailed information of the preparation method, synthesis route, structure and properties of TiO2/PMMA nanohybrids is revealed. The possible rationale for the uniform formation of TiO2 nanoparticles in the PMMA matrix is discussed with respect to the role of the acid solvent trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) as well as the electrospun fiber structure in the sol–gel and hydrothermal process. The use of TFA in the preparation of electrospun precursor/PMMA solutions induces full hydrolysis of titanium alkoxide. The rapid electrospinning process suppresses the condensation reaction of the precursor. The strong hydrogen bonding interaction between hydrolyzed inorganic precursor and the polymer results in stable precursor/PMMA nanohybrids at ambient conditions. The solid fibrous polymer structure facilitates the generation and homogeneous distribution of nanosized TiO2 particles within the PMMA matrix at hot water conditions, which are ready to be used in biomedical and optical applications.

Gassing in Li4Ti5O12-based batteries and its remedy

“…The O 1s XPS profile presents a large peak at 532.4 eV which is assigned to C-O-C species, while two small peaks at 531.7 and 533.5 eV are attributed to the C = O species and the oxygen atom of lithium alkyl carbonates bounding to two carbon atoms, respectively4142 (Supplementary Fig. S5h).…”

Multi-cycle photocatalytic degradation of bezafibrate by a cast polyvinyl alcohol/titanium dioxide (PVA/TiO2) hybrid film

“…Some efforts have been reported on the immobilization of TiO 2 nanoparticles on a variety of matrices, such as glass, pumice beads, stainless steel plates, and polymers [18][19][20][21]. The adherences between matrix and TiO 2 particles have been deduced from physical adsorption [22], electrostatic interaction [23], hydrogen bond formation [24] and chemical bonding interactions [25]. Among these interactions, chemical bonding between polymer and TiO 2 nanoparticles is considered to be the most efficient technique.…”

Immobilization of TiO2 nanoparticles in polymeric substrates by chemical bonding for multi-cycle photodegradation of organic pollutants

“…Alternatively, to solve the problem, many efforts have been devoted to immobilizing TiO 2 nanoparticles on a variety of substrates [11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25], such as glass [17,18], stainless steel plate [19], carbon fiber film [20], TiO 2 substrate [21,22] and polymers [23,24], by means of sol-gel method, thermal treatment, chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and electrophorectic deposition. And the adherences between substrates and TiO 2 nanoparticles are often focused on the physical adsorption [20], electrostatic interaction [24], hydrogen bonding interaction [26] and chemical bonding interaction.…”