Electrospun Nanofibrous Membranes of Polyacrylonitrile/Halloysite
with Superior Water Filtration Ability
- Publication date
- Publisher
Abstract
The necessity of benefiting a breakthrough
in filtration technology
has led to increasing attention in advanced functional nanosized materials
such as nanofibers for filtering devices as a solution for providing
water at lower energy costs. In this study, electrospun polyacrylonitrile
(PAN) nanofibrous membranes were reinforced by 1, 2, and 3% w/w of
halloysite nanotubes (HNTs) in order to improve their mechanical properties,
thermal stability and water filtration performance for the possible
application as water filtration membranes. Morphological analysis
revealed the highly porous and nanofibrous structure of membranes
which further confirmed by surface area analysis (BET). Incorporation
of HNTs enhanced the mechanical properties of the membranes such as
tensile strength and elongation at break (especially at 1% w/w HNTs)
while resulted in significant improvement of their thermal properties.
Moreover, PAN/HNTs membranes showed excellent oil/water separation
performance, while incorporation of HNTs led to increase in water
flux rate, which is considered as a key point in water filtration
membranes. Additionally, heavy metal ion adsorption performance of
the membranes showed a significant increase by incorporation of 3%
w/w HNTs. These results signified the potential of electrospun PAN/HNTs
nanofibrous membranes to be used for water filtration applications