Surfactant-assisted synthesis of surface-functionalized nanoparticle-polymer electrospun composites

An electrospun polyacrylonitrile (PAN) nanofiber composite with embedded, surface-active nanoparticles, the PAN nanofiber composite comprising:

• Amorphous Ferrihydrite (Fh) nanoparticles;
• dimethylformamide (DMF);
• poly-acrylonitrile (PAN);
• and
• cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) or tetrabutylammonium bromide (TBAB).

A method for removing metal contaminants from a source of water, the method comprising:

• exposing a source of water to electrospun polyacrylonitrile (PAN) nanofiber composites with embedded, surface-active nanoparticles, wherein the electrospun polyacrylonitrile (PAN) nanofiber composites with embedded, surface-active nanoparticles comprise:
• amorphous Ferrihydrite (Fh) nanoparticles, dimethylformamide (DMF), poly-acrylonitrile (PAN), and a quaternary ammonium surfactant selected from cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) and tetrabutylammonium bromide (TBAB);
• and
• removing the metal contaminants from the source of the water with the electrospun polyacrylonitrile (PAN) nanofiber composites with the embedded, surface-active nanoparticles.