In
recent years, adsorption-based membranes have been widely investigated
to remove and separate textile pollutants. However, cyclic adsorption–desorption
to reuse a single adsorbent and clear scientific evidence for the
adsorption–desorption mechanism remains challenging. Herein,
silk nanofibers were used to assess the adsorption potential for the
typical anionic dyes from an aqueous medium, and they show great potential
toward the removal of acid dyes from the aqueous solution with an
adsorption rate of ∼98% in a 1 min interaction. Further, we
measured the filtration proficiency of a silk nanofiber membrane in
order to propose a continuous mechanism for the removal of acid blue
dye, and a complete rejection was observed with a maximum permeability
rate of ∼360 ± 5 L·m–2·h–1. The Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and
X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy studies demonstrate that this fast
adsorption occurs due to multiple interactions between the dye molecule
and the adsorbent substrate. The as-prepared material also shows remarkable
results in desorption. A 50-time cycle exhibits complete adsorption
and desorption ability, which not only facilitates high removal aptitude
but also produces less solid waste than other conventional adsorbents.
Additionally, fluorescent 2-bromo-2-methyl-propionic acid (abbreviated
as EtOxPY)-silk nanofibers can facilitate to illustrate a clear adsorption
and desorption mechanism. Therefore, the above-prescribed results
make electrospun silk nanofibers a suitable choice for removing anionic
dyes in real-time applications.