Preparation of titania covered multi-walled carbon nanotube thin films

Highlights: • Multi-walled carbon nanotube films were covered with titania under mild conditions. • The effect of relative humidity was highly investigated during preparation. • Homogeneous TiO₂ layers with different thicknesses can be obtained using sealed system. • TiO₂/MWCNT composite membranes will be performed for environmental cleaning. - Abstract: The aim of this work was to investigate the effects of relative humidity on the formation of titania layers on the surface of multi-walled carbon nanotubes under regulated conditions in a sealed system. Reactive precursor compounds such as titanium (IV) oxychloride hydrochloric acid and titanium (IV) bromide were used as precursor to cover the surface of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) under solvent conditions. The mixtures of MWCNTs and titania compounds were not stirred or sonicated. The effect of relative humidity was influenced using the mixture of sulphuric acid and water in desiccators. As-prepared titan-dioxide (TiO₂) layers were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), thermogravimetric analysis (TG), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Raman spectroscopy. Our results revealed that TiO₂ layers with different thicknesses can be obtained using this simple sealed system. These TiO₂ covered multi-walled carbon nanotube films can be ideal candidates for different kinds of applications (e.g. sensors, virus filtration or catalysts).