Preparation, Characterization and Properties of a Novel Electrospun Polyamide-6/ Chitosan/Graphene Oxide Composite Nanofiber

Chitosan (CS) is a natural biopolymer that due to its excellent properties such as biocompatibility and biodegradability is suitable for use in many applications. But, dependent on the molecular weight and other properties the electrospinning capability of CS is very weak. To solve this problem, it is recommended to blend it with a second polymer. In this work, CS/polyamide-6 (PA6) composite nanofibers were fabricated by electrospinning technique. Then different weight percentages of graphene oxide (GO) i.e. 0.1, 0.25, and 0.5 wt% were used to improve the mechanical and thermal properties of composite nanofibers. The characterization results showed that uniform nanofibers were formed by electrospinning of the PA6/CS nanocomposites blend, and the addition of GO lead to the formation of spider-web-like morphology with decreasing of nanofibers diameter. Further, the GO can improve Young's modulus and thermal degradation resistance of the PA6/CS nanofibers mat. Finally, the potential of prepared composite nanofibers was investigated for the adsorption of lead ions (Pb2+) in a batch system. Kinetic studies revealed that the Pb2+ ion adsorption onto PA6/CS/GO nanofibers mat followed pseudo-first-order kinetic, and gave the maximum adsorption capacity of 217.39 mg g−1.