Superfine powdered activated carbon incorporated into electrospun polystyrene fibers preserve adsorption capacity.
A composite material consisted of superfine powdered activated carbon (SPAC) and fibrous polystyrene (PS) was fabricated for the first time by electrospinning. SPAC is produced by pulverizing powdered activated carbon. The diameter of SPAC (100-400nm) is more than one hundred times smaller than conventional powdered activated carbon, but it maintains the internal pore structure based on organic micropollutant adsorption isotherms and specific surface area measurements. Co-spinning SPAC into PS fibers increased specific surface area from 6m2/g to 43m2/g. Unlike metal oxide nanoparticles, which are non-accessible for sorption from solution, electrospinning with SPAC created porous fibers. Composite SPAC-PS electrospun fibers, containing only 10% SPAC, had 30% greater phenanthrene sorption compared against PS fibers alone. SPAC particles embedded within the polymer were either partially or fully incorporated, and the accessibility of terminal adsorption sites were conserved. Conserving the adsorptive functionality of SPAC particles in electrospun non-woven polymeric fiber scaffolding can enable their application in environmental applications such as drinking water treatment.
School of Sustainability and the Built Environment, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, United States. Electronic address: oapul@asu.edu.
Onur G
OG
Apul
School of Sustainability and the Built Environment, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, United States.
Natalia
N
Hoogesteijn von Reitzenstein
School for Engineering of Matter, Transport and Energy, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, United States.
Jared
J
Schoepf
Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences, Clemson University, Anderson, SC 29625, United States.
David
D
Ladner
The Polytechnic School, Arizona State University, Mesa, AZ 85212, United States.
Kiril D
KD
Hristovski
School of Sustainability and the Built Environment, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, United States.
Paul
P
Westerhoff
Adsorption; Electrospinning; Phenanthrene; Polystyrene; Synthetic organic contaminants