title: Effect of Pt Nanoparticles on the Photocatalytic Activity of ZnO Nanofibers.
abstract: For this study, we originally realized ZnO nanofibers (∼50 nm in mean radius) mixed with Pt nanoparticles (∼30 nm in mean radius), prepared by pulsed laser ablation in liquid, and investigated their photocatalytic performance. The material was synthesized by the simple electrospinning method coupled with subsequent thermal treatments. Methylene blue was employed as a representative dye pollutant to evaluate the photocatalytic activity of the nanofibers. It was found that the Pt-ZnO fibers exhibit a photodegradation reaction rate that is ∼40 % higher than the one obtained for reference ZnO fibers. These encouraging results demonstrate that Pt-ZnO nanofibers can be fruitfully applied for environmental applications.
authors.affiliation: CNR-IMM MATIS, Via S. Sofia 64, I-95123, Catania, Italy. alessandro.dimauro@ct.infn.it.
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Di Mauro
authors.affiliation: CNR-IMM MATIS, Via S. Sofia 64, I-95123, Catania, Italy. massimo.zimbone@ct.infn.it.
authors.forename: Massimo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zimbone
authors.affiliation: CNR-IMM, Zona industriale strada VIII n.5, I-95121, Catania, Italy. mario.scuderi@imm.cnr.it.
authors.forename: Mario
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Scuderi
authors.affiliation: CNR-IMM, Zona industriale strada VIII n.5, I-95121, Catania, Italy. giuseppe.nicotra@imm.cnr.it.
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Nicotra
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze Chimiche and INSTM UdR Catania, Università di Catania, Viale Andrea Doria 6, I-95100, Catania, Italy. me.fragala@unict.it.
authors.forename: Maria Elena
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Fragalà
authors.affiliation: CNR-IMM MATIS, Via S. Sofia 64, I-95123, Catania, Italy. giuliana.impellizzeri@ct.infn.it.
authors.forename: Giuliana
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Impellizzeri
keywords: Electrospinning; Photocatalysis; Pt nanoparticles; ZnO nanofibers