Synthesis and characterization of Pt‐TiO₂ nanofibers

Abstract

Abstract Platinum (Pt) doped nanofibers were electrospun by using a Pt‐TiO 2 precursor solution. The Pt‐TiO 2 precursor solution was prepared by mixing the synthesized metal‐organic precursor solution containing Ti and Pt and the TiO 2 sol. Amino acid, L‐lysine, was used as a bonding medium between Ti and Pt. The required amount of L‐lysine was determined to be 12 wt%. The dynamic viscosity and surface tension of Pt‐TiO 2 solution were 16.6 cP and 21.4 mN/m, respectively. SEM results revealed that the diameters of TiO 2 and Pt‐TiO 2 nanofibers calcined at 500°C were similar regardless of the Pt presence. However, crystallite sizes of TiO 2 and Pt‐TiO 2 nanofibers determined by the Scherrer formula were 16 nm and 8 nm, respectively, suggesting that Pt metals may hinder the growth of the crystallite (© 2012 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)