Robust mechanical-performance core-shell nanostructured HNTs/PAN-supported Cu(I)/UIO-66 composite nanofibers towards selective adsorption removal of benzothiophene

In this work, a novel core-shell nanostructured coaxial nanofiber membranes (CFMs) were successfully produced by the coaxial electrospinning. The structure and composition of CFMs were probed by a series of characterizations. The results demonstrated that the CFMs were comprised of the versatile core-shell structure nanofibers, therein Cu(I)/UIO-66 scattered in the shell layer and HNTs dispersed in the core layer. As applied in the selective adsorption desulfurization, the Cu(I)/UIO-66 embedded on the surface of the nanofiber undertook the adsorption active sites, while HNTs in core layer served as enhancing the mechanical performance of PAN nanofibers. The CFMs had the superior adsorption performance in the batch adsorption (maximum:40.14 mg·g−1) and fixed-bed adsorption (maximum: 47.43 mg·g−1) capacities for benzothiophene (BT) from fuel oil, respectively. Furthermore, due to having the robust mechanical performance, the CFMs exhibited the preferable recycling adsorption and mechanical stability. The adsorption mechanism of BT molecules on CFMs was explored by the kinetics, isotherms and thermodynamic models, indicating the existence of the synergistic effect of physical adsorption and chemical adsorption.