Polyaniline-Coated Electrospun Polyacrylonitrile Nanofibers for Effective Short-Chain PFAS (GenX) Removal from Water

A 6-carbon short-chain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS), GenX, also known as hexafluoropropylene oxide dimer acid (HFPO-DA) and its ammonium salt, has been manufactured in recent years as a replacement for perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), a traditional long-chain PFAS, due to the increasing e...

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Main Authors: Israt Jahan, Easmin Ara Tani, Harsh V. Patel, Renzun Zhao, Lifeng Zhang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-04-01
Series:Fibers
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2079-6439/13/4/42
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author Israt Jahan
Easmin Ara Tani
Harsh V. Patel
Renzun Zhao
Lifeng Zhang
author_facet Israt Jahan
Easmin Ara Tani
Harsh V. Patel
Renzun Zhao
Lifeng Zhang
author_sort Israt Jahan
collection DOAJ
description A 6-carbon short-chain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS), GenX, also known as hexafluoropropylene oxide dimer acid (HFPO-DA) and its ammonium salt, has been manufactured in recent years as a replacement for perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), a traditional long-chain PFAS, due to the increasing environmental regulation of PFAS compounds in recent years. GenX has received significant attention because of the fact that it is more toxic than people originally thought, and it is now one of the six PFAS compounds that are placed under legally enforceable restrictions in drinking water, i.e., 10 ppt, by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA). In this research, we extended the use of polyacrylonitrile (PAN) nanofibers from electrospinning for GenX removal from water by coating them with polyaniline (PANI) through in situ polymerization. The obtained PANI-coated electrospun PAN nanofibrous adsorbent (PANI-ESPAN) demonstrated excellent GenX adsorption capability and could remove nearly all GenX (>98%) from a 100 ppb aqueous solution. This research provided valuable insights into short-chain PFAS remediation from water by designing and developing high-performance adsorbent materials.
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spelling doaj-art-75f542abb5964ed3a85c6594f7ac8dff2025-08-20T02:17:20ZengMDPI AGFibers2079-64392025-04-011344210.3390/fib13040042Polyaniline-Coated Electrospun Polyacrylonitrile Nanofibers for Effective Short-Chain PFAS (GenX) Removal from WaterIsrat Jahan0Easmin Ara Tani1Harsh V. Patel2Renzun Zhao3Lifeng Zhang4Department of Nanoengineering, Joint School of Nanoscience and Nanoengineering, North Carolina A&T State University, 2907 E Gate City Blvd, Greensboro, NC 27401, USADepartment of Nanoengineering, Joint School of Nanoscience and Nanoengineering, North Carolina A&T State University, 2907 E Gate City Blvd, Greensboro, NC 27401, USADepartment of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering, North Carolina A&T State University, Greensboro, NC 27411, USADepartment of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering, North Carolina A&T State University, Greensboro, NC 27411, USADepartment of Nanoengineering, Joint School of Nanoscience and Nanoengineering, North Carolina A&T State University, 2907 E Gate City Blvd, Greensboro, NC 27401, USAA 6-carbon short-chain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS), GenX, also known as hexafluoropropylene oxide dimer acid (HFPO-DA) and its ammonium salt, has been manufactured in recent years as a replacement for perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), a traditional long-chain PFAS, due to the increasing environmental regulation of PFAS compounds in recent years. GenX has received significant attention because of the fact that it is more toxic than people originally thought, and it is now one of the six PFAS compounds that are placed under legally enforceable restrictions in drinking water, i.e., 10 ppt, by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA). In this research, we extended the use of polyacrylonitrile (PAN) nanofibers from electrospinning for GenX removal from water by coating them with polyaniline (PANI) through in situ polymerization. The obtained PANI-coated electrospun PAN nanofibrous adsorbent (PANI-ESPAN) demonstrated excellent GenX adsorption capability and could remove nearly all GenX (>98%) from a 100 ppb aqueous solution. This research provided valuable insights into short-chain PFAS remediation from water by designing and developing high-performance adsorbent materials.https://www.mdpi.com/2079-6439/13/4/42short-chain PFASadsorbentpolyacrylonitrilepolyanilineelectrospinning
spellingShingle Israt Jahan
Easmin Ara Tani
Harsh V. Patel
Renzun Zhao
Lifeng Zhang
Polyaniline-Coated Electrospun Polyacrylonitrile Nanofibers for Effective Short-Chain PFAS (GenX) Removal from Water
Fibers
short-chain PFAS
adsorbent
polyacrylonitrile
polyaniline
electrospinning
title Polyaniline-Coated Electrospun Polyacrylonitrile Nanofibers for Effective Short-Chain PFAS (GenX) Removal from Water
title_full Polyaniline-Coated Electrospun Polyacrylonitrile Nanofibers for Effective Short-Chain PFAS (GenX) Removal from Water
title_fullStr Polyaniline-Coated Electrospun Polyacrylonitrile Nanofibers for Effective Short-Chain PFAS (GenX) Removal from Water
title_full_unstemmed Polyaniline-Coated Electrospun Polyacrylonitrile Nanofibers for Effective Short-Chain PFAS (GenX) Removal from Water
title_short Polyaniline-Coated Electrospun Polyacrylonitrile Nanofibers for Effective Short-Chain PFAS (GenX) Removal from Water
title_sort polyaniline coated electrospun polyacrylonitrile nanofibers for effective short chain pfas genx removal from water
topic short-chain PFAS
adsorbent
polyacrylonitrile
polyaniline
electrospinning
url https://www.mdpi.com/2079-6439/13/4/42
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