Electrospun polymeric nanohybrids with outstanding pollutants adsorption and electroactivity for water treatment and sensing devices

Abstract

Graphene oxide (GO) and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were loaded at different mutual ratios into poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) (PVDF-co-HFP) matrix and electrospun to construct mats that were assessed as smart sorbents for decontaminating water from methylene blue (MB) pollutant, while ensuring the additional possibility of detecting the dye amounts. The results revealed that sorption capacity enhances upon increasing GO content, which is beneficial to wettability and active area. Equilibrium adsorption of these materials is precisely predicted by the Langmuir isotherm model and the maximum capacities herein achieved, ranging from 120 to 555 mg/g depending on the formulation, are higher than those reported for similar systems. The evolution of the structure and properties of such materials as a function of dye adsorption was studied. The results reveal that MB molecules prompted the increase of electrical conductivity of the samples in a dose-dependent manner. Mats containing solely CNTs, while displaying the worst sorption performance, showed the highest electrical performances, displaying interesting changes in their electrical response as a function of the dye amount adsorbed, with a linear response and high sensitivity (309.4 µS cm−1 mg−1) in the range 0–235 µg of dye adsorbed. Beyond the possibility to monitor the presence of small amounts of MB in contaminated water and the saturation state of sorbents, this feature could even be exploited to transform waste sorbents into high-added value products, including flexible sensors for detecting low values of pressure, human motion, and so on. Graphical Abstract Multifunctional materials for dye absorption and detection, pressure sensing, fabricated by integrating GO and CNTs into PVDF-HFP matrix via electrospinning.

A 30-Year Review on Nanocomposites: Comprehensive Bibliometric Insights into Microstructural, Electrical, and Mechanical Properties Assisted by Artificial Intelligence

“…A critical area of this research involves the integration of diverse nanofillers, such as carbon nanotubes (CNTs) [ 11 ], graphene oxide (GO) [ 12 , 13 ], silica nanoparticles [ 14 , 15 ], and various metal oxides [ 16 , 17 ], into polymer matrices [ 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 ]. This integration is vital in enhancing the performance of composite materials.…”

Multifunctional 3D-printed composites based on biopolymeric matrices and tomato plant (Solanum lycopersicum) waste for contextual fertilizer release and Cu(II) ions removal

“…Although pesticides may effectively control pests and diseases, they can cause long-term environmental damage by altering soil microbial communities and disrupting the balance of soil ecosystems [6]. Moreover, the mutagenic and carcinogenic effects of this element raise profound concerns about the environment and human health, making them one of the serious worldwide ecological threat [7,8]. In addition to the risks posed by copper-based pesticides, tomato harvest also generates significant amounts of waste due to large unused portions of the crops.…”

“…Fig 8. Optical image (a-f) and SEM micrograph (a'-f') of good adhesion between layers in FDM samples before NPK release (a-c and a'-c') and layers detachment in FDM samples after soaking in water for 30 days due to occurrence of swelling (d-f and d'-f')…”