TiO₂ nanotubular fibers sensitized with CdS nanoparticles

¹ Institute for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, Sharif University of Technology, 14588-89694, Tehran, Iran
² Department of Physics, Sharif University of Technology, 11365-9161, Tehran, Iran
³ Research institute of petroleum industry (RIPI), 18745-4163, Tehran, Iran

Corresponding author: Taghavinia@sharif.edu

Received: 25 February 2009
Accepted: 8 January 2010
Published online: 26 March 2010

Abstract

In this study TiO₂ nanotubular fibers were prepared and subsequently loaded with CdS nanoparticles to obtain visible light activate nanofibers with modified structure. Preparation of TiO₂ fibers was based on templating method and Liquid phase deposition technique (LPD) with cellulose fibers as templates. Using LPD, thickness of the TiO₂ layer could be controlled precisely by adjusting the reaction conditions, therefore after removal of the template, the resulting material has a fibrous structure, mimicking the cellulose fibers shape. CdS nanoparticles were synthesized by thermochemical growth method and attached to TiO₂ fibers through impregnation method. The pure composite nanofibers were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and UV-visible spectroscopic techniques. To investigate the photoactivity of CdS/TiO₂ fibers, using MB decomposition test under visible light irradiation was studied and compared with that of pure TiO₂ nanofibers and CdS nanoparticles. A possible mechanism of sensitization of TiO₂ with CdS nanoparticles and visible light MB decomposition was also discussed. Photocatalytic decomposition test under visible light irradiation shows that these novel structures are appropriate for visible photocatalysis applications.