fabrication and characterization of electrospun pvdf-hfp-aliquat 336 fiber for eextract of chromium from aqueous solutions

Hexavalent chromium is a heavy metal which is highly toxic to plants, animals and humans[1, 2]. cr(vi)-containing compounds cause cancer of the respiratory tract, renal damage, allergy, and asthma in humans. therefore, the cr(vi) content of wastewaters must be reduced to a safe level before they can be discharged into the environment [3]. as a result, the current study attempted to remove cr(vi) ions from aqueous samples using electrospun polymer fibers containing ionic liquid and bringing its amount to the world health organization's recommended value [4, 5]. poly (vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) (pvdf-hfp) was used as a base polymer in electrospun polymer fibers, and trioactylmethyl ammonium chloride (aliquat® 336) was used as an anion exchange extractor. first, the instrumental factors influencing the structure of polymer fibers were investigated. the potential, distance between the tip of the needle and the collector, and appropriate flow rate were determined. scanning electron microscopy (sem) was used to determined fiber diameter and to observe the fiber morphology. the extraction of cr(vi) from aqueous solution was studied using optimized polymer fibers, and the parameters affecting the extraction, such as the percentage of ligand in electrospun polymer fibers, solution ph, and flow rate, were determined. the mixture of sodium nitrate and nitric acid performed the best in the back-extraction of cr(vi) from electrospun polymer fibers. the extraction and back-extraction of chromium using electrospun polymer fibers demonstrated that these fibers can be used in four complete cycles. according to the result of this research, electrospun polymer fibers have a high capability to remove chromium ions in low amounts.