The effect of titania precursor on the morphology of prepared TiO2/MWCNT nanocomposite materials

Since materials science is of great importance, the application of composite materials based on carbon nanotubes (CNTs) is widely investigated. Current work is aimed at preparing nanocomposites of TiO2/MWCNT using an impregnation method combined with slow hydrolysis. Different titanium alkoxide compounds as Ti(OEt)(4), Ti(OiPr)(4), and Ti(OBu)(4), respectively, were used as precursor materials to cover the surface of CNTs in ethanolic medium. In our samples themass ratiowas 10:1 (TiO2:MWCNT). The produced composite materials were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), Raman microscopy, transmission (TEM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) techniques; moreover, thermal analysis and the determination of the specific surface area (BET) were also carried out. These as-prepared TiO2/MWCNT composites were also tested as photocatalysts in degradation reaction of the model compound salicylic acid. (C) 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim