Preparation of ZnO-Incorporated Porous Carbon Nanofibers and Adsorption Performance Investigation on Methylene Blue

Abstract

To improve the adsorption performance of carbon materials, novel ZnO nanoparticle-incorporated porous carbon nanofibers (Zn@PCNFs) were prepared via an electrospinning technique. A facile one-step fabrication strategy was proposed to simultaneously complete the carbonization of a peroxided polyacrylonitrile framework, the activating treatment caused by ZnO reducing to Zn, and the pore generation caused by evaporation of reduced Zn with a low melting point. The influences of the pH, ion category, and concentration on methylene blue adsorption were investigated. The physical–chemical characterizations showed that ZnO was homogeneously distributed on the nanofibers and micropores were generated. The adsorption results revealed that an efficient adsorption was obtained within a large range of pH values through different adsorption models, which was accelerated by increasing the temperature. Therefore, the novel Zn@PCNFs are anticipated to be applied in the future as an effective dye waste adsorbent.

Recent Progress of the Preparation and Application of Electrospun Porous Nanofibers

“…There are two steps to the process: (1) a sacrificial template is added to the spinning solution to create a homogeneous solution and (2) the template is then removed by post-treatment (such as solvent extraction or heat treatment) to obtain porous nanofibers. Polymers, metals, metal oxides, and inorganic salts are frequently used as sacrificial templates in the production of porous structures [ 89 , 90 , 91 , 92 , 93 , 94 , 95 , 96 , 97 , 98 , 99 , 100 , 101 , 102 , 103 , 104 , 105 , 106 , 107 , 108 , 109 ]. This method has wide adaptability in the selection of polymer materials and can construct multifunctional porous structures in both hydrophilic and hydrophobic polymers.…”

“…For the fabrication of porous fibers, some metals or metal oxides, such as SiO 2 [ 93 , 94 ], Sn [ 95 ], ZnO [ 96 , 97 ], Fe 3 O 4 [ 98 ], and Ni [ 99 , 100 ], are commonly used templates. By using suitable nanoparticles as templates, pores’ sizes and morphologies can be easily regulated.…”

“…After 50 cycles, it still showed good reversible capacity (445 mAh/g). Nie et al [ 97 ] obtained porous carbon nanofibers (Zn@PCNFs) containing zinc by adding ZnO nanoparticles to PAN nanofibers and then carbonizing them at a high temperature ( Figure 2 d). PAN was carbonized into a skeleton in the carbonization process, and some ZnO was reduced to Zn and further evaporated to produce pores.…”

Green Synthesis of ZnO Coated Porous Activated Carbon Prepared from Pontederia crassipe Leaves for the Adsorptive Removal of Toxic Organic Dyes

“…The synergistic roles of both ZnO and AC can arise from the efficient porosity and enhanced surface, which can induce efficient adsorption and removal processes of various organic and inorganic pollutants (Alhan et al 2019). By incorporating zinc oxide with activated carbon, pores will be created and the pore size distribution will be better regulated (Nie et al 2022). The current study is reflected in the use of the Pontederia crassipe leaves as an inexpensive and renewable source in the preparation of AC/ZnO nanocomposites.…”

“…The ZnO/AC nanocomposites can be adopted as effective systems for environmental treatment due to the synergistic impact arising from AC and ZnO particles that can enhance the removal efficacy .These nanocomposites have high reusability and can be used several times without losing their efficacy. In several studies, zinc oxide nanoparticles were combined with activated carbon to obtain porous carbon nanoparticles containing zinc oxide with effective adsorption performance (Nie et al 2022;Yan et al 2021). The synergistic roles of both ZnO and AC can arise from the efficient porosity and enhanced surface, which can induce efficient adsorption and removal processes of various organic and inorganic pollutants (Alhan et al 2019).…”