Surface modification of PMMA/O-MMT composite microfibers by TiO2 coating

In the present work, poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA)/organically modified montmorillonite (O-MMT) composite microfibers were firstly prepared by emulsion polymerization combined with electrospinning, and then coated by nanosize titanium dioxide (TiO2) using RF magnetron sputter technique. The modified surfaces of PMMA/O-MMT composite microfibers were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV–vis spectroscopy and drop shape analyzer. Finally, the photocatalytic properties of TiO2 coated PMMA/O-MMT composite microfiber membranes were evaluated by degradation of methylene blue(MB) under UV illumination. The experimental results revealed that anatase-TiO2 and rutile-TiO2 nanoparticles were well spread and physically deposited on the surface of PMMA/O-MMT microfibers, and the wettability of the PMMA/O-MMT composite microfibers was improved after surface modification by sputter coating. Furthermore, the PMMA/O-MMT microfibers membrane coated with TiO2 performed well in photocatalytic degradation of MB.