Polymeric nanofiber-carbon nanotube composite mats as fast-equilibrium passive samplers for polar organic pollutants

Jiajie Qian; Andres Martinez; Rachel F Marek; Matthew R. Nagorzanski; Hui Zhi; Edward Furlong; Dana W. Kolpin; Gregory H. LeFevre; David M. Cwiertny

doi:10.1021/acs.est.0c00609

Polymeric nanofiber-carbon nanotube composite mats as fast-equilibrium passive samplers for polar organic pollutants

Environmental Science & Technology

By: Jiajie Qian, Andres Martinez, Rachel F Marek, Matthew R. Nagorzanski, Hui Zhi, Edward Furlong, Dana W. Kolpin, Gregory H. LeFevre, and David M. Cwiertny

https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.0c00609

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Abstract

To improve the performance of polymeric electrospun nanofiber mats (ENMs) for equilibrium passive sampling applications in water, we integrated two types of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (CNTs; with and without surface carboxyl groups) into polyacrylonitrile (PAN) and polystyrene (PS) ENMs. For 11 polar and moderately hydrophobic compounds (−0.07 ≤ logK_OW ≤ 3.13), 90% of equilibrium uptake was achieved in under 0.8 days (t_90% values) in nonmixed ENM-CNT systems. Sorption capacity of ENM-CNTs was between 2- and 50-fold greater than pure polymer ENMs, with equilibrium partition coefficients (K_ENM-W values) ranging from 1.4 to 3.1 log units (L/kg) depending on polymer type (hydrophilic PAN or hydrophobic PS), CNT loading (i.e., values increased with weight percent (wt %) of CNTs), and CNT type (i.e., greater uptake with carboxylated CNTs composites). During field deployment at Muddy Creek in North Liberty, Iowa, optimal ENM-CNTs (PAN with 20 wt % carboxylated CNTs) yielded atrazine concentrations in surface water with a 40% difference relative to analysis of a same-day grab sample. We also observed a mean percent difference of 30 (±20)% when comparing ENM-CNT sampler results to grab sample data collected within 1 week of deployment. With their rapid, high capacity uptake and small material footprint, ENM-CNT equilibrium passive samplers represent a promising alternative to complement traditional integrative passive samplers while offering convenience over large volume grab sampling.

Additional publication details
Publication type	Article
Publication Subtype	Journal Article
Title	Polymeric nanofiber-carbon nanotube composite mats as fast-equilibrium passive samplers for polar organic pollutants
Series title	Environmental Science & Technology
DOI	10.1021/acs.est.0c00609
Volume	54
Issue	11
Year Published	2020
Language	English
Publisher	American Chemical Society
Contributing office(s)	Central Midwest Water Science Center
Description	10 p.
First page	6703
Last page	6712
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