Carbon fiber embedded chitosan/PVA composites for decontamination of endocrine disruptor bisphenol-A from water

Microporous carbon fibers (CFs) were in situ embedded in chitosan‒polyvinyl alcohol (CHT-PVA) polymer matrix to produce an approximately 10 mm-thick carbon-polymer composite film (CHT-PVA/CF). The composite films were prepared with different CF:(CHT-PVA) ratios of 0.5–3.0 (w/w) and were used as novel adsorbents for the remediation of bisphenol A (BPA) from water. The composites were characterized by SEM, TGA-DTG, FTIR and XPS analysis. When CF was introduced into the matrix of CHT-PVA, the BPA removal performance increased from 5.8% to 97.6%. The adsorption performances of CHT-PVA/CF composites were investigated with respect to solution pH, temperature and time. The optimal pH for maximum adsorption was found as 6.0. The Freundlich and Dubinin–Raduskevich isotherm models were fitted to the equilibrium data better than the Langmuir model. According to the kinetics results, the equilibrium time of CHT-PVA/CF composite film was found 2 h and the kinetic data were well described by the pseudo-second-order equation. After saturated adsorption, composite film can be easily regenerated and reused within five cycles.