Preparation of aminated polyacrylonitrile porous fiber mat and its Application for Cr(VI) ion removal

Porous polyacrylonitrile (PAN) fiber mat was prepared by electrospinning PAN in N,N-dimethylformide solution with poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) as pore-forming agent. Then, the porous PAN fiber mat was chemical modified by the tetraethylenepentamine to acquire aminated porous polyacrylonitrile (APPAN) fiber mat. Common aminated PAN fiber mat was also prepared for comparison. The surface morphologies of the APPAN and PAN fiber mat were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and the corresponding specific surface areas were also measured. FT-IR/ATR spectra of the APPAN and PAN fiber mat were recorded for analysis of the surface chemical structures. The Cr(VI) absorption results demonstrated that the porous structure in the fiber could obviously increase the absorption capacity of the fiber mat.