Electrospun Functional Cyclodextrins/Polystyrene (PS) Composite Nanofibers and Their Applications for Sorption of Cu (II) Ions Under Aqueous Solution

Polystyrene (PS) fibers nanofibers were applied to metal adsorption. In this study, we aim to focus on the functional PS fibers (prepared by an electrospinning technique) containing three types of cyclodextrins (CDs): alpha-CD, beta-CD and gamma-CD due to the PS fiber membrane has good stability, high mechanical strength, easy preparation, low cost, etc. comparing with the ordinary fiber membrane. Our goal is to develop functional electrospun fibers with enhanced adsorption capacity and chelation for metal ions assisted by cyclodextrin inclusion complexation. The membranes were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The composites were used as highly efficient adsorbents for adsorbing Cu2+ from solution due to the presence of cyclodextrin groups and were conveniently separated from the adsorbed solution. Furthermore, the experiments investigated the effect of content and contact time. Based on the overall results that our study showed, the electrospun fibers functionalized with alpha-, beta- or gamma-CDs seem to be very suitable sorbent for adsorption of Cu (II) and therefore show potentials for the development of functional fibrous materials.