Functionalized Electrospun Polymer Mats as Sorbents for Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) in Aqueous Solution — Presentation Detail — Celebration of Scholars

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Additional Information

More information is available at carthage.edu/celebration-scholars/. The following are members of the Research, Scholarship, and Creativity Committee who are eager to listen to ideas and answer questions:

Jun Wang
Kim Instenes
John Kirk
Nora Nickels
Andrew Pustina
James Ripley

Functionalized Electrospun Polymer Mats as Sorbents for Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) in Aqueous Solution

Name: Brady Bresnahan
Major: Chemistry and Mathematics
Hometown: Faribault
Faculty Sponsor: Christine Blaine
Other Sponsors:
Type of research: Senior thesis
Funding: NSF Grant NSF-1757548

Abstract

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are hazardous chemicals that often contaminate water supplies and lack an efficient method for treatment and detection. This research aims to optimize polyacrylonitrile (PAN) mats for the adsorption of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) by combining the additives tetrabutyl ammonium bromide (TBAB), nonfunctionalized carbon nanotubes (nF CNT), carboxylic acid functionalized carbon nanotubes (F CNT), and sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS). The mats were synthesized via a single-pot electrospinning process, and the optimal mat for PFOA uptake was determined by comparing adsorption capacity and kinetics. The PAN/TBAB mat showed optimal PFOA adsorption (initial concentration of 100 ppb) of up to 30% after 1 hour, 50% after 2 hours, and almost complete (~100%) uptake after 48 hours. The results suggest that the electrostatic interaction between the anionic PFOA and cationic TBAB is key to PFOA adsorption and that PAN/TBAB mats are an excellent candidate to be used either for treatment of PFOA or as a means of PFOA concentration to facilitate easier methods of analysis and detection (e.g., passive sampling).

Poster file