Polycaprolactone/activated carbon nanofibrous nanocomposite with enhanced hydrophilicity: A promising option for water purification application

Polycaprolactone (PCL) has been widely studied as a polymer with suitable physical and chemical properties and high biocompatibility. Activated carbon nanoparticles, as nanostructures with a large surface area, have also shown very high adsorption capacity. In the present study, polycaprolactone nanofibrous structures containing a high percentage of activated carbon nanoparticles were prepared by electrospinning and electrospinning parameters were optimized in order to obtain nanofibers with a high percentage of nanoparticles loading. Microscopic results indicated the successful formation of nanofibers containing ۵ and ۱۰ wt% activated carbon. The results of the hydrophilicity study using the contact angle test indicated a significant decrease in the contact angle of the polycaprolactone nanofibrous structure with a water drop in the presence of activated carbon nanoparticles and an improvement in the hydrophilicity of this nanofibrous nanocomposite. The nanofibrous nanocomposite prepared in this study, due to the presence of activated carbon nanoparticles fixed in the nanofiber substrate and high hydrophilicity, can be investigated and used as a suitable option as an absorbent membrane in applications for absorbing pollutants from water and wastewater.

کلیدواژه ها:

Nanofiber nanocomposite ، activated carbon nanoparticles ، polycaprolactone ، hydrophilicity