Electrospun UiO-66-F4/polyacrylonitrile nanofibers for efficient extraction of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances in environmental media

Abstract

Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) are a family of emerging contaminants which are widely present in environment. In this work, novel UiO-66-F4/polyacrylonitrile (UiO-66-F4/PAN) hybrid nanofibers were firstly prepared via blend electrospinning or in-situ growth method for the pipette-tip solid phase extraction of PFASs. Characterizations demonstrate the as-synthesized UiO-66-F4/PAN nanofibers have good chemical and thermal stability, possess large surface area (248 m²/g) and mesoporous framework structure. Several extraction factors including the amount of adsorbent, pH and ionic strength of sample solution, extraction time and eluent were investigated and the optimum conditions are 20 mg of the selected sorbent, adjusting to pH 5 and adding 4% w/v NaCl to sample solution, extraction for 12 min (3 min × 4). The good adsorption affinity of UiO-66-F4/PAN for PFASs can be attributed to the extensive adsorption sites and multiple interactions including hydrophobic interaction, hydrogen bonding and F-F interaction. Low limit of detection (0.008–0.076 µg/L), limit of quantification (0.010–0.163 µg/L) and recoveries (70.84–113.57%) for 9 PFASs with relative standard deviations < 15% were achieved. When applied in the analysis of target PFASs in lake water, tap water, beverage, and shrimp muscle samples, this method could achieve robust and accurate results with sufficient sensitivity for nine PFASs.