Nanofibres of TiO 2 –SiO 2 (Ti:Si = 50: 50 mol%) with diameters of 50–400 nm were prepared by calcining electrospun nanofibres of polyvinyl acetate (PVac)/titania–silica composite as precursor. These PVac/titania–silica hybrid nanofibres were obtained from a homogenous solution of PVac with a sol–gel of titanium isopropoxide (TiP) and tetraethoxysilane by using the electrospinning technique. The nanofibres were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), wide-angle x-ray diffraction (WAXD), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) surface area. SEM, WAXD and FTIR results indicated that the morphology and crystalline phase of TiO 2 –SiO 2 nanofibres were strongly influenced by the calcination temperature and the content of titania and silica in the nanofibres. Additionally, the BET results showed that the surface area of TiO 2 –SiO 2 nanofibres was decreased with increasing calcination temperature and the content of titania and silica in nanofibres.
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Ding et al. (2003) studied this question.