Journal article
Electrospun nanofiber mats as sorbents for polar emerging organic contaminants: Demonstrating tailorable material performance for uptake of neonicotinoid insecticides from water
Journal of hazardous materials advances, Vol.9, p.100219
02/2023
DOI: 10.1016/j.hazadv.2022.100219
PMCID: PMC10063225
PMID: 37006725
Abstract
•Electrospun polyacrylonitrile (PAN) is tailored for neonicotinoid insecticide uptake.•Addition of carbon nanotubes and quaternary ammonium sites increase sorption on PAN.•Carbonization of PAN produces nanofibers with best capacity for neonicotinoids.•Hydrophobic interactions drive sorption but specific interactions also contribute.•Study demonstrates ability to tune electrospun sorbents for polar organic compounds.
The number and diversity of chemical contaminants in aquatic environments require versatile technologies for their removal. Here we fabricated various electrospun nanofiber mats (ENMs) and tested their ability to sorb six neonicotinoid insecticides, a model family of small, polar contaminants. ENM formulations were polyacrylonitrile (PAN) or carbon nanofibers (CNF; carbonized from PAN), with additives including carbon nanotubes (CNTs; with and without surface carboxyl groups), the cationic surfactant tetrabutyl ammonium bromide (TBAB), and/or phthalic acid (PTA; a CNF porogen). While sorption on pure PAN ENMs was low [equilibrium partition coefficients (KENM-W) from 0.9 to 1.2 log units (L/kg)], inclusion of CNTs and/or TBAB generally increased uptake in an additive fashion, with carboxylated CNT composites outperforming non-functionalized CNT analogs. CNF ENMs exhibited as much as a tenfold increase relative to PAN for neonicotinoid sorption, which increased with carbonization temperature. Ultimately, the optimal ENM (CNFs with carboxylated-CNTs, PTA, and carbonized at 800 °C) exhibited relatively fast uptake (equilibrium < 1 day without mixing) and surface-area-normalized capacities comparable to other carbonaceous sorbents (e.g., activated carbon). Collectively, this work demonstrates the versatility of electrospinning to produce novel sorbents specifically designed to target emerging chemical classes for applications including water treatment and passive sampling.
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Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Electrospun nanofiber mats as sorbents for polar emerging organic contaminants: Demonstrating tailorable material performance for uptake of neonicotinoid insecticides from water
- Creators
- Matthew Nagorzanski - Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, United StatesJiajie Qian - Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, United StatesAndres Martinez - University of Iowa, IIHR--Hydroscience and EngineeringDavid M. Cwiertny - University of Iowa, Center for Health Effects of Environmental Contamination
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Journal of hazardous materials advances, Vol.9, p.100219
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.hazadv.2022.100219
- PMID
- 37006725
- PMCID
- PMC10063225
- NLM abbreviation
- J Hazard Mater Adv
- ISSN
- 2772-4166
- eISSN
- 2772-4166
- Publisher
- Elsevier B.V
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 02/2023
- Academic Unit
- Center for Health Effects of Environmental Contamination; Civil and Environmental Engineering; IIHR--Hydroscience and Engineering; Public Policy Center (Archive); Chemistry; Chemical and Biochemical Engineering; Iowa Superfund Research Program
- Record Identifier
- 9984403059402771
Metrics
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