Open AccessMultifunctional Oil Absorption with Macroporous Polystyrene Fibers Incorporating Silver-Doped ZnO
Author(s) -
Ali A. El-Samak,
Deepalekshmi Ponnamma,
Mohammad K. Hassan,
Samer Adham,
Alamgir Karim,
Ali Ammar,
Maha Alser,
Samar Shurbaji,
Nahla O. Eltai,
Mariam Al Ali AlMaadeed
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
acs omega
Language(s) - Uncategorized
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.779
H-Index - 40
ISSN - 2470-1343
DOI - 10.1021/acsomega.0c05683
Subject(s) - materials science , polystyrene , chemical engineering , crystallinity , microporous material , porosity , electrospinning , adsorption , scanning electron microscope , composite material , polymer , chemistry , organic chemistry , engineering
Hydrophobic microporous polystyrene (PS) fibers are fabricated by a solvent-induced phase-separation-assisted electrospinning method. Zinc oxide (ZnO) and silver-doped zinc oxide (Ag-ZnO) nanomaterials with variable morphologies are added to the PS fibers, to investigate the influence of multifunctional nanofiller addition on the porosity and consequent oil-adsorbing properties for different oil types. The doping of silver as well as the uniformity in particle distribution are confirmed by scanning electron microscopy and the energy-dispersive spectral analyses. The porosity of the fibers and their crystallinity effect depend on the hydrophobicity and surface properties of these microporous nanofilled fibers. Ag-ZnO, specifically in 2 wt %, enhanced the pore size and distribution in PS porous fibers, thereby enhancing the oil-adsorbing property and its hydrophobicity. In-depth analysis of the oil adsorption mechanism is done for the fibers, both qualitatively and quantitatively, to demonstrate its correlation with the structural integrity of the fibers. The PS/2Ag-ZnO composite also exhibits the highest antibacterial performance against Staphylococcus aureus , a general indication of antibiological fouling properties of these oil-separating films. The antifouling/antibacterial activity of the nanoparticles and high oil sorption capacity of the highly porous PS composites show great potential for use in water-treatment-related applications.