High Surface area core shell ZnO/TiO2 nanofibers fabrication using electrospinning and metalorganic chemical vapour deposition approach

A novel combined approach to fabricate porous core shell ZnO-TiO2 nanofibers consisting of 1D assemblies of ZnO nanocrystal-supported TiO2 nanofibers is presented. Nanosized TiO2 and ZnO doped TiO2 nanofibers (TiO2:ZnO) have been fabricated by electrospinning. In addition, core shell structures consisting of ZnO coated TiO2 fibers have been produced by depositing ZnO through MOCVD on the electrospun TiO2 material. The high surface area of nonwoven TiO2 nanofibers is advantageous for the uniform deposition of ZnO nanostructured layer. In the core shell structures ZnO nanocrystals reside on the fiber surface, whereas in electrospun hybrid doped TiO2 fibers ZnO is encapsulated in the fiber inside. The high porosity of obtained material results appealing for a wide range of applications in optical, antibacterial, biochemical and gas sensing fields.