The fabrication of polymeric nanofibers and its potential versatility instigated to foster smart hybrid nanomaterials for the removal of environmental pollutants. In this pursuit, in this research work, polyacrylonitrile (PAN)-based two-dimensional (2D) nanofibrous mats with polyethyleneimine (PEI)/Fe and quaternary ammonium (QA)/Fe as hybrid fillers were prepared by the electrospinning process for the effective dye removal and bacterial disinfection. The characteristics of the fabricated nanomaterials were extensively explored by several analytical techniques such as field emission-scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller analysis. Magnetic and thermal properties were investigated by superconducting quantum interference device and thermogravimetric measurements. The kinetic and isothermal models affirmed the adsorption behavior of the PAN–PEI/Fe nanofibers, and further regenerative studies substantiated the sustainability of the mats for the removal of industrial dye effluents. Subsequently, the magnetic-QA-loaded PAN nanofiber mats exhibited bactericidal killing efficacy of 99 and 89.5% in both Staphylococcus aureus and green fluorescence protein expressing Escherichia coli bacterial models evaluated from the conventional quantitative bacterial colony-counting assay. Disk diffusion method and microscopic investigations corroborated the disinfection efficacy with zone of inhibitions of ∼23 and 33 mm, respectively. Interestingly, in vitro cell culture studies conducted in BHK-21 and NIH 3T3 cell lines demonstrated the cytocompatibility, and the in vivo toxicity investigations using the zebrafish models necessitated the real-time application of these nanofibrous mats. Therefore, the comprehensive study of the fabricated PAN-templated functionalized 2D nanofibrous mats affirmed to be competent for the remediation of industrial dye effluents and bacteria in water bodies.

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Fabrication procedures are crucial for the design and development of composite nanofibrous materials in order to obtain effective antibacterial properties. In this work, solvent homogenization and blend electrospinning are the methodology followed for the synthesis of filler nanomaterials. Earlier the hydrothermally synthesized filler rGO/Fe nanocomposites (NCs) was incorporated through the hierarchical combination onto the PAN/Ag blend to obtain PAN/Ag-rGO/Fe 3 O 4 composite polymeric melt. Further the homogenous solution was fed into the electrospinning setup which utilizes the electrostatic forces to form one-dimensional (1D) nanofibers and on further deposition leads to the formation of nanofibrous mat. The obtained nanofibrous mat was characterized by various ana-lytical techniques in order to study its innate material properties and behaviour. The quality and composition of the nanofibrous mat along with its nanocomposite counterparts were investigated by XPS and Raman spectroscopic analysis for comparison. Apart from the conventional antibacterial assays that are followed in several studies, the present work also demonstrated the antibacterial efficacy of the nanomaterial through estimation of live/dead bacteria by the flow cytometry method. These quantitative assessments gives information associated with the antibacterial effect of the nanomaterials which will establish the practicality and feasibility for the development of such nano-fillers functionalized nanofibrous filter for water purification.