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Flexible-in-rigid polycrystalline titanium nanofibers: a toughening strategy from a macro-scale to a molecular-scale.
- Source :
-
Materials horizons [Mater Horiz] 2023 Jan 03; Vol. 10 (1), pp. 65-74. Date of Electronic Publication: 2023 Jan 03. - Publication Year :
- 2023
-
Abstract
- TiO <subscript>2</subscript> nanomaterials, especially one-dimensional TiO <subscript>2</subscript> nanofibers fabricated by electrospinning, have received considerable attention in the past two decades, for a variety of basic applications. However, their safe use and easy recycling are still hampered by the inherently subpar mechanical performance. Here, we toughened polycrystalline TiO <subscript>2</subscript> nanofibers by introducing Al <superscript>3+</superscript> -species at the very beginning of electrospinning. The resultant long-and-continuous TiO <subscript>2</subscript> nanofibers achieved a Young's modulus of 653.8 MPa, which is ca. 25-fold higher than that of conventional TiO <subscript>2</subscript> nanofibers. Within each nanofiber, amorphous Al <subscript>2</subscript> O <subscript>3</subscript> -based oxide effectively hindered the coalescence of TiO <subscript>2</subscript> nanocrystals and potentially repaired the surface groves. The solid-state <superscript>17</superscript> O-NMR spectra further revealed the toughening strategy on a molecular scale, where relatively flexible Ti-O-Al bonds replaced rigid O-Ti-O bonds at the interfaces of TiO <subscript>2</subscript> and Al <subscript>2</subscript> O <subscript>3</subscript> . Moreover, the modified TiO <subscript>2</subscript> nanofibers exhibited superb sinter-resistance, without cracking over 900 °C, which was dynamically monitored by TEM. Therefore, flexible-in-rigid TiO <subscript>2</subscript> fibrous mats can be facilely folded into 3D sponges through origami art. As a potential showcase, the TiO <subscript>2</subscript> sponges were demonstrated as a duarable and renewable filtrator with a high filtration efficiency of 99.97% toward PM <subscript>2.5</subscript> and 99.99% toward PM <subscript>10</subscript> after working for 300 min. This work provides a rational strategy to produce flexible oxide nanofibers and gives an in-depth understanding of the toughening mechanism from the macro-scale to the molecular-scale.
- Subjects :
- Titanium chemistry
Filtration
Oxides
Nanofibers chemistry
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 2051-6355
- Volume :
- 10
- Issue :
- 1
- Database :
- MEDLINE
- Journal :
- Materials horizons
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 36477767
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1039/d2mh01255c