Abstract

---

In this studythe sol gel synthesis method was employed for the preparation of nitrogen and silver-doped TiO₂nanoparticles.This was followed by immobilising the prepared nanoparticles onto chitosan (Cs) and polyvinyl alcohol-co-ethylene (PVAE) polymer fibres using the process of electrospinning. This was done so as to secure the particles on the Cs/PVAE matrix to allow their use in applications such as water treatment. Characterisation was carried out to establish some physical properties of the prepared particles. Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Energy-dispersive x-ray Spectroscopy (EDX) were used to analyze the size, morphology and composition of the nanomaterials. Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy was used to monitor reactions and for identification of functional groups while X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis was carried out to determine the crystalline phases of the synthesized material. The crystallite size was calculated using the Scherrer equation and the thermal stability of the nanocomposites was determined using Thermogravimetric analysis(TGA).The XRD patterns showed that the undoped and doped samples consisted of mixed crystalline phases of anatase and rutile. The diameter of randomly selected nanoparticles was found to range from 6.4 nm to 21 nm while the size of the nanofibres was found to be in the range 234-270 nm. Nitrogen doped titania nanoparticles were the smallest in size.

---