Loading…

Aerosol Cross-Linked Crown Ether Diols Melded with Poly(vinyl alcohol) as Specialized Microfibrous Li+ Adsorbents

Crown ether (CE)-based Li+ adsorbent microfibers (MFs) were successfully fabricated through a combined use of CE diols, electrospinning, and aerosol cross-linking. The 14- to 16-membered CEs, with varied ring subunits and cavity dimensions, have two hydroxyl groups for covalent attachments to poly­(...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:ACS applied materials & interfaces 2017-12, Vol.9 (49), p.42862-42874
Main Authors: Limjuco, Lawrence A, Nisola, Grace M, Torrejos, Rey Eliseo C, Han, Jeong Woo, Song, Ho Seong, Parohinog, Khino J, Koo, Sangho, Lee, Seong-Poong, Chung, Wook-Jin
Format: Article
Language:English
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Crown ether (CE)-based Li+ adsorbent microfibers (MFs) were successfully fabricated through a combined use of CE diols, electrospinning, and aerosol cross-linking. The 14- to 16-membered CEs, with varied ring subunits and cavity dimensions, have two hydroxyl groups for covalent attachments to poly­(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) as the chosen matrix. The CE diols were blended with PVA and transformed into microfibers via electrospinning, a highly effective technique in minimizing CE loss during MF fabrication. Subsequent aerosol glutaraldehyde (GA) cross-linking of the electrospun CE/PVA MFs stabilized the adsorbents in water. The aerosol technique is highly effective in cross-linking the MFs at short time (5 h) with minimal volume requirement of GA solution (2.4 mL g–1 MF). GA cross-linking alleviated CE leakage from the fibers as the CEs were securely attached with PVA through covalent CE–GA–PVA linkages. Three types of CE/PVA MFs were fabricated and characterized through Fourier transform infrared-attenuated total reflection, 13C cross-polarization magic angle spinning NMR, field emission scanning electron microscope, N2 adsorption/desorption, and universal testing machine. The MFs exhibited pseudo-second-order rate and Langmuir-type Li+ adsorption. At their saturated states, the MFs were able to use 90–99% CEs for 1:1 Li+ complexation, suggesting favorability of their microfibrous structures for CE accessibility to Li+. The MFs were highly Li+-selective in seawater. Neopentyl-bearing CE was most effective in blocking larger monovalents Na+ and K+, whereas the dibenzo CE was best in discriminating divalents Mg2+ and Ca2+. Experimental selectivity trends concur with the reaction enthalpies from density functional theory calculations, confirming the influence of CE structures and cavity dimensions in their “size-match” Li+ selectivity.
ISSN:1944-8244
1944-8252
DOI:10.1021/acsami.7b14858