Electrospun Silica-Polyacrylonitrile Nanohybrids for Water Treatments

Abstract

In this work, the removal of NOM (natural organic matter) as represented by humic acid by means of electrospun nanofiber adsorptive membranes (ENAMs) is described. Polyacrylonitrile (PAN) was used for the preparation of ENAMs incorporating silica nanoparticles as adsorbents. The addition of silica to the polymer left visible changes on the structural morphology and fibers’ properties of the membrane. The membrane samples were characterized by pure water permeability, contact angle measurement, SEM, XPS, and XRD. This study assesses the preliminary performance of PAN-Si membranes for the removal of natural organic matter (NOM). The membrane rejected the humic acid, a surrogate of NOM, from 69.57% to 87.5%.

Comparative Analysis of Electrospun Silk Fibroin/Chitosan Sandwich-Structured Scaffolds for Osteo Regeneration: Evaluating Mechanical Properties, Biological Performance, and Drug Release

“…Malczewska et al reported that the inclusion of silica particles in the spinning solution decreases the fiber diameter, however enhanced the antibacterial and mechanical properties. 45 The top views of all of the nanofibers were randomly aligned on each layer, which is in accordance with FTIR and XRD graphs.…”

“…The inclusion of silica particles can act as a nucleation site for phase separation or polymer crystallization, leading to a finer nanofiber structure and confirming the polymer chain during fiber formation. Malczewska et al reported that the inclusion of silica particles in the spinning solution decreases the fiber diameter, however enhanced the antibacterial and mechanical properties . The top views of all of the nanofibers were randomly aligned on each layer, which is in accordance with FTIR and XRD graphs.…”

Polyacrylonitrile Fibers with a Gradient Silica Distribution as Precursors of Carbon-Silicon-Carbide Fibers

“…This approach makes it possible to impart hydrophobic properties to PAN-based materials while maintaining the inherent vapor-and air-permeability of PAN, which is required for textile, medical purposes, and the production of fabrics with special-purpose and self-cleaning materials [7][8][9]. In addition, modification of PAN with silicon-containing components is used in the production of membranes and filters to change their permeability and selectivity [10][11][12][13][14]. A surface modification of PAN fibers with silicon-containing coupling agents to improve compatibility with the matrix in the manufacture of the polymer composites was investigated in [15].…”

“…SiO 2 is used as a silicon-containing modifier component, and composite fibers obtained by electrospinning [7,14,[18][19][20][21], often, simultaneously with achieving the required special characteristics demonstrate inhomogeneous morphology due to the formation of large aggregates [7,8,12,14,20], that could decrease mechanical properties [12,22].…”