PRODUCTION OF TITANIUM DIOXIDE NANOFIBER (TNF): INFLUENCE OF ELECTROSPINNING PARAMETER ON CRYSTALLINE SIZE

Abstract

This study aims to develop a small size of TNF using an electrospinning process. TNF is applied in direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) as a catalyst, catalyst support and a filler in the membrane. This study involves determining the parameters that affect the electrospinning process, particularly in terms of the distance between the needle tip and collector towards the size of TNF crystalline. The production of TNF involves an electrospinning process, followed by a stabilization and calcination process. Fourier Transformation Infrared (FTIR) analysis was carried out to analyse the purity of the samples, while X-ray diffractometer (XRD) analysis was carried out to determine the size of crystalline. The result demonstrates that the longer the distance between the needle and collector, the smaller the size of the TNF produced. A smaller sized crystalline offers a significant impact on catalytic reaction and overall performance of DMFC.