Camargo Silva S.M., Muñoz-Prieto E., Gomez-Pachon E., Vera-Graziano R.
Universidad Pedagogica y Tecnológica de colombia and Instituto de Investigaciones en Materiales, UNAM, CO
Keywords: electrospinning, poly(vinyl acetate) precursor, TiO2 / ZnO nanofibers, titanium isopropoxide, zinc oxide
We report the study of titanium dioxide / zinc oxide nanofibers obtained from the calcination of precursor poly (vinyl acetate) fibers with titanium isopropoxide and zinc nanopowder, which were prepared by the electrospinning technique. The structure and morphology of nanofibers and precursor fibers were studied by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), X-ray Diffraction (XRD) and FESEM-EDS. The FTIR and XRD analyzes confirmed the formation of crystalline structures of titanium (anatase) and zinc oxides, after the calcination of the nanofibers at 500 °C. SEM micrographs show that both precursor fibers and nanofibers form random porous membranes, that TiO2 / ZnO nanofibers and precursor microfibers have average diameters in the range of 200 to 225 nm. TiO2 / ZnO nanofibers are electrically conductive. These characteristics suggest that titanium dioxide / zinc oxide nanofibers would have potential application in the field of renewable energy, in particular, for the manufacture of solar cells.
Journal: TechConnect Briefs
Volume: 2, Materials for Energy, Efficiency and Sustainability: TechConnect Briefs 2017
Published: May 14, 2017
Pages: 53 - 57
Industry sector: Energy & Sustainability
Topic: Solar Technologies
ISBN: 978-0-9975117-9-6