Novel fibrous composites based on electrospun PSF and PVDF ultrathin fibers reinforced with inorganic nanoparticles: Evaluation as oil spill sorbents

Abstract

Oil spill accidents and oily wastewaters induce a negative impact to the environment and human health. Therefore, the developing of new sorbent materials to combat promptly such type of pollution is of great interest. In this work, poly(vinylidene fluoride) and polysulfone ultrathin fibers reinforced with Halloysite nanoclay and CoFe2O4 were developed via electrospinning method as composite sorbent materials. Fibrous composites were characterized by scanning and transmission electron microscopy. The magnetic property and the wetting behavior were ascertained by magnetometric and contact angle measurements, respectively. Results showed that the morphology of fibers was homogeneous, and the inorganic particles were properly dispersed within the polymeric matrix. Finally, sorbents were tested for sorption of oily liquids. Produced materials revealed the sorption capacities ranging from 3.70 to 10.01 g/g for poly(vinylidene fluoride)‐based composites, and from 15.69 to 28.21 g/g for polysulfone‐based composites, depending on the nature of tested oil.