Adsorption of methylene blue onto electrospun nanofibrous membranes of polylactic acid and polyacrylonitrile coated with chloride doped polyaniline

Noor Mohammad,Yomen Atassi

doi:10.1038/s41598-020-69825-y

Noor Mohammad, Yomen Atassi

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-69825-y

Copy DOI

Abstract

This study presents the preparation of membranes of polylactic acid (PLLA), polyacrylonitrile (PAN) and their corresponding membranes coated with polyaniline (PANI) for the adsorption of methylene blue (MB). Scanning electron microscopy micrographs reveal that all the membranes exhibit nanofibrous morphology. The adsorption capacity and the removal efficiency of the membranes are studied as a function of (initial adsorbate concentration, pH of the medium, temperature, contact time and adsorbent dosage). Coated membranes with PANI showed better adsorption performance and their DC conductivities were correlated to MB concentrations. Adsorption isotherms have also been performed and the adsorption process has been tested according to Langmuir and Freundlich models. The regeneration and reuse of the prepared membranes to re-adsorb MB were also investigated. The enhancement in adsorption performance and reusability of PANI-coated membranes in comparison with non-coated ones are fully discussed.

Highlights

This study presents the preparation of membranes of polylactic acid (PLLA), polyacrylonitrile (PAN) and their corresponding membranes coated with polyaniline (PANI) for the adsorption of methylene blue (MB)
PAN membrane micrograph shows that the fibers are beads free and they are continuous with a diameter of 330 nm
FTIR and UV–Vis spectroscopy indicated the successful PANI coating on PLLA and PAN membranes, whereas scanning electron microscope (SEM) micrographs showed the fibrous morphology of the membranes

Summary

Introduction

This study presents the preparation of membranes of polylactic acid (PLLA), polyacrylonitrile (PAN) and their corresponding membranes coated with polyaniline (PANI) for the adsorption of methylene blue (MB). Due to dyes hazardous effects, their removal from water and the remediation of contaminated water have received increasing attention and extensive research has been performed in this specific field of environmental science[6]. In this respect, a myriad of techniques has been investigated such as chemical oxidation, adsorption, coagulation, precipitation, to name a few[3,11,12]. In a recent work, published by our team, novel electrospun nanofibrous membranes, of polylactic acid and coated with pTSA-PANI, were used for the remediation of wastewater of anionic p ollutants[29]

Methods

Results

Conclusion