Synthesis and Characterization of ZnO-TiO2/Carbon Fiber Composite with Enhanced Photocatalytic Properties

Herein, we prepared a novel photocatalytic ZnO-TiO₂ loaded carbon nanofibers composites (ZnO-TiO₂-CNFs) via electrospinning technique followed by a hydrothermal process. At first, the electrospun TiO₂ NP-embedded carbon nanofibers (TiO₂-CNFs) were achieved using electrospinning and a carbonization process. Next, the ZnO particles were grown into the TiO₂-CNFs via hydrothermal treatment. The morphology, structure, and chemical compositions were studied using state-of-the-art techniques. The photocatalytic performance of the ZnO-TiO₂-CNFs composite was studied using degrading methylene blue (MB) under UV-light irradiation for three successive cycles. It was noticed that the ZnO-TiO₂-CNFs nanocomposite showed better MB removal properties than that of other formulations, which might be due to the synergistic effects of carbon nanofibers and utilized metal oxides (ZnO and TiO₂). The adsorption characteristic of carbon fibers and matched band potentials of ZnO and TiO₂ combinedly help to boost the overall photocatalytic performance of the ZnO-TiO₂-CNFs composite. The obtained results from this study indicated that it can be an economical and environmentally friendly photocatalyst.