Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
6
Hybrid Metal NaNoparticle-coNtaiNiNg
polyMer NaNofibers for eNviroNMeNtal
applicatioNs
Yunpeng Huang
1,2
, Shige Wang
1
, Mingwu Shen
2
, and Xiangyang Shi
1,2,3
1
State Key Laboratory for Modification of Chemical Fibers and Polymer Materials, Donghua University, Shanghai, China
2
College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, Donghua University, Shanghai, China
3
CQM-Centro de Química da Madeira, Universidade da Madeira, Campus da Penteada, Portugal
6.1
iNtroductioN
In recent years, nanomaterials have found applications in various fields such as pharmaceutical technology [1-4],
electronic industry [5-7], textiles [8, 9], mechanical industry [10, 11], and environmental remediation [12-15]. Among
numerous kinds of nanomaterials, metal nanoparticles (NPs) have been widely studied in environmental applications
due to their unique surface features, reactivity, and catalytic properties [16, 17]. However, the usage of metal NPs in
environmental technology encountered some obstacles due to the difficulty in recycling colloid metal NPs or the possibility
of introducing secondary contamination. In order to overcome this bottleneck, several categories of nanomaterials have
been employed as supporting materials to incorporate metal NPs, forming multifunctional composite or hybrid materials
[13-15, 18-20]. Compared with other nanomaterials, one-dimensional nanofibers possess superior properties such as
high aspect ratio, large specific surface area, high porosity, and stability in liquid media [13, 21]. Therefore, nanofibers
have turned out to be one of the best candidates for the formation of hybrid nanomaterials for environmental applications
[13, 22, 23].
Electrospinning has been actively exploited as an intriguing technology for generating long polymer fibers with diameters
ranging from tens of nanometers to several micrometers [24, 25]. Various composite polymeric nanofibers and nanostructured
materials with a high aspect ratio and a specific surface area [26, 27] have been fabricated for various applications including,
but not limited to, solar cells [28], filtration [29], environmental remediation [12-15, 30], protective clothing [31], biosensors
[32], and tissue engineering scaffolds [33-38]. Electrospun composite or hybrid nanofibers are promising due to the coexisting
physicochemical properties possessed by both the host and guest materials.
This chapter reviews recent advances in the fabrication of metal NP-doped electrospun nanofibers, and their appli-
cations in environmental remediation. Following a brief introduction, the challenges of environmental nanotechnology
and the basic knowledge of electrospinning technology are introduced. Then, the fabrication of different metal NP-
immobilized nanofibers and their applications in the remediation of different environmental contaminants in water
resources are discussed.
