Preparation of continuous TiO2 fibers by sol–gel method and its photocatalytic degradation on formaldehyde

The continuous TiO2 fibers were prepared by sol–gel method using the tetrabutyl orthotitanate as the precursor. The sol-formation process is studied by FT-IR spectroscopy. The synthesized continuous TiO2 fibers were characterized using SEM, HRTEM and XRD. Results demonstrate that the titanate sol has good spinnability when R ≤ 2 (R = H2O:Ti(OC4H9)4, molar ratio). The fibers have the length of several meters and the diameter of about 30 μm. The fibers are a radial close-packed product of nano-particles with high crystallinity. The continuous TiO2 fibers are co-crystal including anatase phase and rutile phase. The formaldehyde degradation ratio of continuous TiO2 fiber was 98.6%.