Electrospun polyindole nanofibers as a nano-adsorbent for heavy metal ions adsorption for wastewater treatment

Polyindole nanofibers were prepared via electrospinning method using acetonitrile as solvent. The obtained electrospun polyindole nanofibers were characterized with SEM, TEM, FTIR and BET surface areas measurements. Adsorption experiments were carried out in batch sorption mode to investigate the effect of pH, contact time and diameter of polyindole nanofibers. The Cu(II) adsorption was highly pH dependent and the optimum pH was found to be 6. The maximum adsorption capacities for electrospun polyindole nanofibers and polyindole powders were 121.95 and 18.93 mg/g attained in 15 and 60 min, respectively. With the diameter of polyindole nanofibers increasing, the adsorption capacity slightly decreased. The adsorption isotherm data fitted well to the Langmuir isothermal model which indicates that the monolayer adsorption occurred. The kinetics data analysis showed that the adsorption process could be described by pseudo-second order kinetic model, suggesting a chemisorption process as the rate limiting step. Thermodynamic parameters ΔHº, ΔSº and ΔGº for the Cu(II) adsorption by polyindole nanofibers were calculated. The results showed that the Cu(II) adsorption was feasible, spontaneous and endothermic. Desorption results revealed that the adsorption capacity can remain up to 75 % after 10 times usage. The electrospun polyindole nanofibers would have promising application for removal of Cu(II) from wastewater treatment.