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Electrospun PAN-Based Carbon Nanofi bers for Aqueous Boron Recovery
Abstract
Designed for the recovery of aqueous boron, a critical element with various industrial applications, the use of carbon fi bers
as an eff ective adsorbent for boron in aqueous solutions was explored, and the changes in carbon fi bers were investigated
during repeated boron adsorption and desorption. In this research, prepared PAN fi bers by electrospinning were carbonized
into nitrogen-doped carbon fi bers. The resulting fi ber mats undergo boron adsorption in boric acid solution and subsequent
regeneration in HCl solution, and these processes repeat multiple times to assess the reusability of carbon fi bers. SEM analysis
confi rmed the successful electrospinning of PAN fi bers and their carbonized ones, while EDS and XPS analyses determined
the presence of doped nitrogen on the graphene-like surface and the consequential eff ective boron adsorption. Then ICPOES
showed that the boron adsorption was completed within ~ 1 h to an equilibrium capacity even at room temperature, and
the capacity increased with the regeneration of fi bers, also confi rmed by SEM and BET analyses in that the specifi c surface
area increased along with the physical breakage and shattering of fi bers during regeneration. In conclusion, the carbon fi bers
proposed in this study are applicable for aqueous boron recovery with their operative reusability.
