In₂O₃/ZnO heterostructured nanotubes: electrospinning fabrication, characterization, and highly enhanced photocatalytic properties

In₂O₃/ZnO heterostructured nanotubes with cubic In₂O₃ and hexagonal ZnO were successfully synthesized via the combination of electrospinning and calcination process. The as-prepared materials are investigated by using thermogravimetric and differential scanning calorimetry, fourier transform infrared spectroscope, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope and high-resolution transmission electron microscope techniques. The formation mechanism of In₂O₃/ZnO heterostructured nanotubes based on the kinetics of phase separation which results from the decomposition of polyvinyl pyrrolidone during the calcination process is also discussed in detail. The photocatalytic degradation tests reveal that In₂O₃/ZnO heterostructured nanotubes exhibit the highly improved photocatalytic properties compared with the single-component ZnO and In₂O₃ materials.