Preparation of pod-shaped TiO(2) and Ag@TiO(2) nano burst tubes and their photocatalytic activity

The pod-shaped TiO(2) nano burst tubes (TiO(2) NBTs) were prepared by the combination of electrospinning and impregnation calcination with oxalic acid (H(2)C(2)O(4)), polystyrene (PS) and tetrabutyl titanate. The silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) were loaded onto the surface of TiO(2) NBTs by ultraviolet light reduction method to prepare pod-shaped Ag@TiO(2) NBTs. In this work, we analysed the effect of the amount of oxalic acid on the cracking degree of TiO(2) NBTs; the effect of the concentration of AgNO(3) solution on the particle size and loading of AgNPs on the surface of TiO(2) NBTs. Scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy investigated the surface morphology of samples. X-ray diffraction and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy characterized the structure and composition of samples. Rhodamine B (RhB) solution was used to evaluate the photocatalytic activity of pod-shaped TiO(2) NBTs and Ag@TiO(2) NBTs. The results showed that TiO(2) NBTs degraded 91.0% of RhB under ultraviolet light, Ag@TiO(2) NBTs degraded 95.5% under visible light for 75 and 60 min, respectively. The degradation process of both samples was consistent with the Langmuir–Hinshelwood first-order kinetic equation. Therefore, the catalytic performance of the sample is: Ag@TiO(2) NBTs > TiO(2) NBTs > TiO(2) nanotubes.