Electroremoval of copper ions from aqueous solutions using chemically synthesized polypyrrole on polyester fabrics

Abstract

Herein, polypyrrole films are coated on polyester (PET) fabrics via environmentally friendly chemical oxidative polymerization method producing conducting fabrics of excellent electrical conductivity. The electrical resistance of the developed conducting textile is 11 kΩ compared to 90 MΩ for the untreated textile fabrics. The developed flexible conducting fabrics are used for efficient removal of copper ions through electrochemical reduction at constant applied potential to the fabrics. The effect of different types of dopants namely 2-naphthalene sulfonic acid sodium salt (NSA), anthraquinone-2-sulfonic acid sodium salt (AQSA), benzene sulfonic acid sodium salt (BSA), and sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) is studied on the polymerization efficiency of polypyrrole chains on polyester fabrics. The efficiency of electro removal of copper ions from solutions is explained in terms of the structural differences between the different dopants used during the polymerization step. Additionally, the influence of different dopants on the capability of developed flexible-polypyrrole based electrode for electroremoval of copper ions was studied. The developed flexible electrode realizes a removal uptake capacity of 61.5 mg/g of coated fabrics using anthraquinone-2-sulfonic acid sodium salt as dopant with a removal efficiency of 69%. The effect the initial copper ions concentrations on the removal efficiency is also evaluated. The developed conducting fabrics are characterized using spectroscopic, X-ray diffraction (XRD), microscopic and surface electrical resistance measurements. This study introduces new and cost-effective approach for facile synthesis, simple processing and safe handling of flexible conducting textile based-electrode for the electrochemical removal and recovery of Cu (II) ions form aqueous solutions with superior merits compared to previously reported surfaces.