Synthesis of Titanium Oxide Incorporated Polyvinyl Pyrrolidone Nanofibers (PVPT) and Remediation of Lead from Water System

Electrospinning has become a popular method in fiber production due to increased interest in nanofiber technology. It has been an efficient tool to prepare nanofibers for the treatment of waste water. It is a multipurpose, cost-effective way of spinning that provides rapid formation of fibers. This study provides an easy and efficient method for the preparation of a novel polyvinyl pyrrolidone titanium oxide (PVPT) composite by electrospinning for the treatment of lead contaminated water. In this purpose, homogeneously distributed TiO2 powder and TiO2 included PVP nanofibers were sandwiched into PCL nano fibrous layers. SEM and FTIR analysis were used to witness the synthesis of composite and the morphology of the produced PVPT structures. Average fiber diameter for pure PVP was calculated as 143 +/- 35 nm while it was found 114 +/- 31 nm for PVPT. Optimum removal was achieved at pH 8; agitation time 30 min, initial concentration of lead solution 10 mg l(-1) and adsorbent dosage 50 mg. The kinetics of adsorption was well described by second order kinetic model with the correlation coefficient 0.99. Monolayer adsorption capacity of PVPT was calculated as 33.33 mg g(-1).