Cyclodextrin-grafted electrospun cellulose acetate nanofibers via “Click” reaction for removal of phenanthrene

Abstract

a b s t r a c tBeta-cyclodextrin (␤-CD) functionalized cellulose acetate (CA) nanofibers have been successfully prepared by combining electrospinning and "click" reaction. Initially, ␤-CD and electrospun CA nanofibers were modified so as to be azide-␤-CD and propargyl-terminated CA nanofibers, respectively. Then, "click" reaction was performed between modified CD molecules and CA nanofibers to obtain permanent grafting of CDs onto nanofibers surface. It was observed from the SEM image that, while CA nanofibers have smooth surface, there were some irregularities and roughness at nanofibers morphology after the modification. Yet, the fibrous structure was still protected. ATR-FTIR and XPS revealed that, CD molecules were successfully grafted onto surface of CA nanofibers. The adsorption capacity of ␤-CD-functionalized CA (CA-CD) nanofibers was also determined by removing phenanthrene (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, PAH) from its aqueous solution. Our results indicate that CA-CD nanofibers have potential to be used as molecular filters for the purpose of water purification and waste water treatment by integrating the high surface area of nanofibers with inclusion complexation property of CD molecules.

Nanofiber-Based Materials for Persistent Organic Pollutants in Water Remediation by Adsorption

“…Cross-linking of cellulose acetate nanofibers with benzene rings by polybenzoxazine provided a hydrophobic adsorptive structure [113]. The adsorbent benzene rings further enabled π-π interactions with Phenantrene aromatic rings, thus leading to 98.5% contaminant removal ( Phenantrene via molecular filtration, by inclusion-complexation of the hydrophobic contaminants in the apolar cyclodextrin cavity [112]. Hydrophobic interactions led to a contaminant removal of 97% (Table 20, N2).…”

“…To study the influence of the adsorbate aromatic structure on the adsorption performance, Phenantrene, with three aromatic cycles, has been considered here. Cellulose acetate unmodified nanofibers showed limited performance in the capture of Phenantrene, which could be due to the hydrophilic nature of cellulose acetate; they are thus poorly adapted for the adsorption of apolar compounds [112]. Cyclodextrin-grafted cellulose acetate nanofibers were tested for the capture of Phenantrene via molecular filtration, by inclusion-complexation of the hydrophobic contaminants in the apolar cyclodextrin cavity [112].…”

Electrospun nylon 6,6 nanofibers functionalized with cyclodextrins for removal of toluene vapor

“…The nanofibrous membranes obtained via electrospinning are desirable filtering materials due to their exclusive properties such as very high surface area to volume ratio, nanoporous structure, high permeability, low basis weight . Moreover, during electrospinning or post‐processing, design flexibility of the nanofibers with chemical/physical functionalization may promote their applicability in filtration …”

Removal of a reactive dye and hexavalent chromium by a reusable bacteria attached electrospun nanofibrous web

“…The process gained attention due to its simplicity, versatility and cost effectiveness. 16,17 Electrospun nanobers and webs display a variety of unique properties such as nanobers possess an extremely high surface-to-volume ratio which can provide a large specic surface area for highly efficient immobilization and a nanoscale pore size.…”