Fabrication of Functional Polyurethane/Rare Earth Nanocomposite Membranes by Electrospinning and Its VOCs Absorption Capacity from Air.
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are a source of air pollution and are harmful to both human health and the environment. In this study, we fabricated polyurethane/rare earth (PU/RE) composite nanofibrous membranes via electrospinning with the aim of removing VOCs from air. The morphological structure of PU/RE nanofibrous mats was investigated using field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) experimental analyses. A certain amount of RE (up to 50 wt. % compared to PU pellets) nanoparticles (NPs) could be loaded on/into PU fibers. The tensile strength of PU/RE nanofibrous membranes decreased slightly with the increasing RE powder content. The PU nanofiber containing 50 wt. % RE powder had the smallest fiber diameter of 356 nm; it also showed the highest VOC absorption capacity compared with other composite membranes, having an absorption capacity about three times greater than pure PU nanofibers. In addition, all of the PU/RE nanofibrous membranes readily absorbed styrene the most, followed by xylene, toluene, benzene and chloroform. Therefore, the PU/RE nanofibrous membrane can play an important role in removing VOCs from the air, and its development prospects are impressive because they are emerging materials.
Division of Mechanical Design Engineering, Chonbuk National University, 567 Baekje-daero, Jeonjusi 561-756, Jeollabuk-do, Korea. freedefeng@naver.com.
Jun Cong
JC
Ge
Division of Mechanical Design Engineering, Chonbuk National University, 567 Baekje-daero, Jeonjusi 561-756, Jeollabuk-do, Korea. njchoi@jbnu.ac.kr.
Nag Jung
NJ
Choi
VOCs; electrospinning; nanocomposites; polyurethane; rare earth