Nylon-6/poly(propylene imine) dendrimer hybrid nanofibers: an effective adsorbent for the removal of anionic dyes

Abstract

Nylon-6/poly(propylene imine) dendrimer hybrid nanofibers (N6-PPI) were prepared by electrospinning. Their ability to remove Acid Red 252 as a model anionic dye was studied. Fourier transform infrared spectrometer and scanning electron microscope were used to investigate the chemical structure and morphology of the prepared nanofibers, respectively. The effect of different factors such as contact time, initial concentration of dye, temperature, pH, adsorbent dosage, and electrolyte concentration on the efficiency of dye removal were studied. The results showed that N6-PPI nanofiber has higher adsorption efficiency than pure N6 nanofiber. The maximum removal was achieved at pH 4. Meanwhile, the adsorption was also increased by increasing the initial concentration of the dye using an optimum amount of 0.1 g of adsorbent. Results showed that the dye adsorption fits with the Langmuir isotherm as well as the pseudo-second order kinetics. The results of this study showed that N6-PPI nanofiber can remove anionic dyes from aqueous media rapidly and efficiently