Porous multicomponent chitosan/poly(ε-caprolactone)-block poly (ethylene glycol)/SiO2 aerogel@polydopamine membrane for Congo red adsorption

Abstract

A composite adsorbent, chitosan//poly (ε-caprolactone)-block poly (ethylene glycol)/SiO2 aerogel@polydopamine (CS/PCL-b-PEG/SA@PDA) membrane was prepared for the adsorption of organic dyes. The matrix polymer materials of this novel adsorbent were eco-friendly. SiO2 aerogel with nanoporous network construction was fixed in the multicomponent polymer fibers through simultaneous electrospinning-electrospray technology followed by modification of polydopamine (PDA). The composite adsorbent had a maximum adsorption capacity of 598.8 mg/g for Congo red (CR) and possessed good reusability performance. This adsorbent showed excellent performance for the selective adsorption of relatively large molecule CR dyes even under high concentration of small molecule methyl orange (MO) dyes or 1 M of salt solution. The adsorption mechanism indicated that the –NH2 and –OH groups in adsorbent could generate the stronger electrostatic attraction with the –SO3- groups in CR. Meanwhile, the sufficient adsorption spaces of the adsorbent were constructed by the porous network structure of SiO2 aerogel, the accumulation of PDA particles and the porous structure of the multicomponent composite membrane. The work provided a proactive study in designing an adsorbent for the selective adsorption of organic dyes.