Materials 2017, 10(12), 1352; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma10121352
Aminated Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) Nanofibers for the Selective Removal of Pb(II) from Polluted Water
1
Leitat Technological Center, C/Pallars, 179-185, 08005 Barcelona, Spain
2
Centro de Excelencia en Nanotecnología Leitat, Fundación Leitat Chile, Mariano Sánchez Fontecilla 310, 701-D, Las Condes, Santiago 8320000, Chile
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Received: 24 October 2017 / Revised: 20 November 2017 / Accepted: 22 November 2017 / Published: 24 November 2017
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Electrospun Materials 2018)
Abstract
Electrospun nanofibers have been successfully applied to remove toxic and carcinogenic contaminants such as heavy metals from polluted water. In this study, an efficient adsorbent based on poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) nanofibers was developed following a cheap, versatile and scalable process. PET nanofibers were first produced by electrospinning, and their surface was chemically functionalized using a simple aminolysis process. The capacity of the resulting material to adsorb Pb(II) from synthetic solutions was evaluated as a function of the contact time, pH, and initial metal ion concentration. The adsorbent system presented a quick kinetic adsorption, reaching an extremely high maximum adsorption capacity of about 50 millimol (mmol) of Pb(II) per gram of adsorbent system after just 30 min. Moreover, the effect of competing metal ions, such as Ni(II), Cd(II) and Cu(II), was studied at different molar ratios. Finally, when tested in continuous flow mode, aminated PET (APET) nanofibers were able to remove 97% of Pb(II) ions in solution, demonstrating their potential for the remediation of heavy metal-contaminated water. View Full-TextKeywords:
poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET); surface modification; electrospinning; adsorption nanofibers; wastewater treatment; water remediation; heavy metals pollution; lead removal
▼
Figures
Figure 1
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited (CC BY 4.0).
Share & Cite This Article
MDPI and ACS Style
Morillo Martín, D.; Magdi Ahmed, M.; Rodríguez, M.; García, M.A.; Faccini, M. Aminated Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) Nanofibers for the Selective Removal of Pb(II) from Polluted Water. Materials 2017, 10, 1352.
Note that from the first issue of 2016, MDPI journals use article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.
Related Articles
Article Metrics
Comments
[Return to top]
Materials
EISSN 1996-1944
Published by MDPI AG, Basel, Switzerland
RSS
E-Mail Table of Contents Alert