Preparation of molecularly imprinted sericin/poly(vinyl alcohol) electrospun fibers for selective removal of methylene blue

Sericin(SS), as an abundant and renewable resource in nature, has been proven to be a good adsorbent for metal ions or organic dyes removal. In this study, glutaraldehyde vapor cross-linked sericin-based electrospun fiber adsorbent was developed for the removal of methylene blue(MB) from wastewater. To overcome the problem of decreasing adsorption capacity by excessive functional group cross-linking, MB-imprinted sericin/poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) electrospun fiber adsorbent was prepared. Biocompatible PVA was added to the electrospinning solution to improve the spinnability and mechanical property. Scanning electron microscopy(SEM), Fourier transforms infrared spectroscopy(FTIR), and so forth were used to confirm their structures and composition. The adsorption performance toward the template molecule MB, including pH effect, adsorption isotherm, adsorption kinetics, adsorption selectivity, and reusability, was investigated. By comparison with non-imprinted sericin/PVA electrospun fibers, MB-imprinted sericin/PVA electrospun fiber adsorbent showed an enhanced and selective adsorption capacity toward MB with a good regeneration and recycling ability. The adsorption test suggests that the resulting MB-imprinted sericin/PVA electrospun fibers are promising adsorbents for MB removal from aqueous system.