Fabrication of mesoporous H3PW12O40/TiO2 composite nanofibers via self-assembly of PS-b-PEO and photocatalytic performance of the resultant fabrics

The mesoporous H3PW12O40/TiO2 (nano-HPA/TiO2) composite nanofibers were successfully synthesized by electrospinning blend solution of titanium-tetraisopropoxide (TTIP), polystyrene modified HPA (mHPA), polystyrene-block-poly (ethylene oxide) (PS-b-PEO). During electrospinning, the selective distribution of TTIP and mHPA has been induced by self-assembly of block copolymer based on the complexation interaction in PEO/TTIP and the physical entanglement of PS chains in copolymer and mHPA. Calcination of the mHPA/PS-b-PEO/TTIP nanofibers produces mesoporous nano-HPA/TiO2 composite fabrics. Its photocatalytic activity was enhanced remarkably relative to TiO2, which can be attributed to the significant improvement in surface area and separation of the photo-induced electron–hole pairs. Both of them result from the existence of HPA nanoparticles on TiO2 frames in the porous composite nanofibers.