Abstract
Chitosan-based nanofibres were synthesized using a fibre electrospinning technique and tested for
the removal of 3-methyl-
4-nitrophenol from aqueous solutions. The downside of chitosan-based materials is swelling. In this
study, it was found that the addition of polyisoprene not only improved the electrospinning ability
of chitosan but also reduced the swelling of the nanofibres by 50%. The adsorption studies of
3-methyl-4-nitrophenol on the chitosan-based nanofibres were conducted in a batch process. The
nanofibres were found to remove up to 90% of 3-methyl-4-nitrophenol with an adsorption reduction
capacity of 12% at each cycle of reusability test. The reduction capacity was associated with the
chemical interaction of the
adsorbate and the adsorbent. This indicated that the nanofibres can effectively remove
3-methyl-4-nitrophenol from water for at least 3 cycles. The adsorption efficiency improved as the
degree of cross-linking was reduced and the adsorption mechanism followed the Freundlich isotherm
suggesting that the adsorption of 3-methyl-4-nitrophenol occurred in different layers on the
surface of the nanofibres. The degree of crosslinking of the electrospun nanofibres with
glutaraldehyde was found to affect the adsorption capacity. Nanofibres with different degrees of
crosslinking were used to study the effect of pH, adsorbent dose, and
initial concentration.