Polyamide Electrospun Nanofibers Functionalized with Silica and Titanium Dioxide Nanoparticles for Efficient Dye Removal

Author:

Saleh Safaa1,Salama Ahmed2ORCID,Awad Ola M.1,De Santis Roberto3,Guarino Vincenzo3ORCID,Tolba Emad4ORCID

Affiliation:

1. Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Al-Azhar University (Girls Branch), Cairo P.O. Box 11884, Egypt

2. Cellulose and Paper Department, National Research Centre, 33 El-Bohouth St., Dokki, Giza P.O. Box 12622, Egypt

3. Institute of Polymers, Composites and Biomaterials, National Research Council of Italy, Mostra d’Oltremare, Pad.20, V.le J.F. Kennedy 54, 80125 Naples, Italy

4. Polymers and Pigments Department, National Research Centre, 33 El-Bohouth St., Dokki, Giza P.O. Box 12622, Egypt

Abstract

In this work, novel multifunctional electrospun nanofibrous membranes made of polyamide (PA6) and loaded with silica (SiO2) and/or titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles were fabricated. SiO2 NPs were first prepared and then characterized by TEM, FE-SEM, and FTIR, and by using XRD techniques, confirming the formation of cristobalite tetragonal crystals with high purity. Different nanofibrous mats, loaded with SiO2 NPs, TiO2 NPs, or both SiO2 and TiO2 NPs, were investigated. Morphological studies indicated that SiO2 and TiO2 nanoparticles tend to be arranged along the fiber surface, also promoting the formation of anatase nanorods when they are mixed into the nanofibers. In this last scenario, mechanical tests have demonstrated that the presence of SiO2 contributed to balancing the mechanical response of fibers that are negatively affected by the presence of TiO2 NPs—as confirmed by tensile tests. More interestingly, the presence of SiO2 did not negatively affect the antibacterial response against different bacteria populations (i.e., Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumonia, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, and Candida albicans), which is mainly ascribable to the presence of TiO2 particles. Accordingly, the TiO2- and TiO2/SiO2-loaded fibers showed higher methylene blue (MB) absorption values—i.e., 26 mg/g and 27 mg/g—respectively, compared to the SiO2-loaded fibers (23 mg/g), with kinetics in good agreement with the second-order kinetic model. The obtained findings pave the way for the formation of novel antibacterial membranes with a promising use in water purification.

Funder

National Research Council (CNR) of Italy

Egyptian Academy of Scientific Research and Technology

Publisher

MDPI AG

Subject

Engineering (miscellaneous),Ceramics and Composites

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