A review of recent progress in polymeric electrospun nanofiber membranes in addressing safe water global issues

Abstract

This review provides an overview of recent advances and developments in electrospinning technology and the recent progress and applications of electrospun nanofiber membranes to expel various pollutants from water.

The Application of Principal Component Analysis (PCA) for the Optimization of the Conditions of Fabrication of Electrospun Nanofibrous Membrane for Desalination and Ion Removal

“…A DC electrical potential difference must be created between the spinneret tip (where Taylor's cone was formed from the dope solution) and the collector (Figure 1B). The critical voltage for nanofiber generation strongly influences the solution's surface tension, spinneret geometry, and spinning distance (a distance from the spinneret tip to the collector) [15,16]. The solution jet travels straight up the collector surface after initiating electrospinning.…”

Recent advances and remaining barriers to the development of electrospun nanofiber and nanofiber composites for point-of-use and point-of-entry water treatment systems

“…3e ). Made either by post-processing to introduce surface functional groups to composites or through a combination of appropriate building blocks in the sol-gel precursor solution, these materials are promising for their potential multi-functionality ( Subrahmanya et al, 2021 ; Wang and Hsiao, 2016 ). Through simple additive performance from each component or possible synergies through interactions between the surface group and embedded particles, these materials help to increase the functionality of chemically reactive nanofibers without changing the physical footprint of the non-woven fiber membrane.…”

“…Here, we will highlight some of the most recent and promising research, development, and applications of electrospun technologies to meet these drinking water consumer needs. While we acknowledge the large group of recent reviews on electrospun fibers and their physical/chemical properties ( Chen et al, 2020 ; Liu et al, 2020; Subrahmanya et al, 2021 ; Islam et al, 2019 ; Agrawal et al, 2021 ), these have been broad in their scope of applications and not always highlighted the materials most promising for use in decentralized treatment based on material design and testing considerations most relevant to these applications.…”

“…Electrospinning is an industrial viable fabrication route for the production of nonwoven membranes ideal for water treatment applications ( Persano et al, 2013 ; Thavasi et al, 2008 ; Daels et al, 2010 ). Critical evaluation of the literature shows that the laboratory performance of electrospun materials is well established (as evidenced by several recent reviews on different nanofiber applications) ( Chen et al, 2020 ; Liu et al, 2020a ; Subrahmanya et al, 2021 ; Islam et al, 2019 ; Agrawal et al, 2021 ), and that they generally behave as would be expected from the wealth of complementary literature on more conventional membranes, engineered nanomaterials, and their composites. Thus, the primary goal of this review is to identify and establish the unique attributes of various electrospun nanofiber formulations that may make them suitable, if not preferred, alternatives to more traditional materials used in commercially available, certified POU/POE devices.…”

“…While there have been several recent reviews on various environmental applications of electrospun nanofibers ( Chen et al, 2020 ; Liu et al, 2020a ; Subrahmanya et al, 2021 ; Islam et al, 2019 ; Agrawal et al, 2021 ), to the best of our knowledge this is the first to critically evaluate the existing literature to assess their potential for the specific application of decentralized water treatment using POU/POE technologies and identify future research needs to realize their POU/POE application at scale. Because certification of POU/POE technologies requires strict adherence to water quality and testing conditions, while focusing on select pollutant targets most relevant to decentralized water treatment, we believe there is need for a review that focuses specifically on the existing state-of-the-art and future research priorities for this intended use application.…”