Preparation of mesoporous polyvinyl alcohol/chitosan/silica composite nanofiber and dye removal from wastewater

Mesoporous polyvinyl alcohol/chitosan/silica composite nanofiber (PCSCN) as a dye adsorbent was prepared using electrospinning and used for removing Direct Red 80 (DR80). The PCSCN was characterized using SEM, FTIR, and AFM. Dye adsorption was an endothermic reaction and followed the Langmuir isotherm and pseudo‐second order kinetics. The effects of operational parameters were investigated. The optimum condition was initial pH 2, adsorbent dosage = 0.015 g, initial dye concentration = 15 mg/L, and the optimum adsorption capacity of 322 mg/g. The results showed that PCSCN was a promising adsorbent to remove dye from colored wastewater. © 2018 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Environ Prog, 38: S100–S109, 2019