Preparation of polyvinyl alcohol composite nanofibers and solid-phase photocatalytic degradation of polyvinyl alcohol

In this study, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) nanofibers including titanium dioxide (TiO2) and carbon nanotubes (CNT) nanoparticles were prepared using the electrospinning process. The solid-phase photocatalytic degradation of the composite nanofibers under UV light irradiation was investigated and compared with that of the pure PVA nanofibers with the aid of weight loss measurements. TiO2 and CNT nanoparticles were confirmed to be introduced in the PVA nanofibers through FTIR spectroscopy and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). According to SEM analysis, PVA nanofibers showed tendency to decrease in diameter with TiO2 and CNT contributions. In addition, the solid-phase photocatalytic degradation efficiency of the composite nanofibers was significantly higher than that of pure PVA nanofibers under UV irradiation.