ABSTRACT Aminated polyacrylonitrile (PAN) fibers were developed via one-step diethylenetriamine modification for efficient As(V) removal from water. The amination process, optimized at 90 °C for 4 h, achieved an exceptional maximum As(V) adsorption capacity (qm, Langmuir model) of 282.2 mg/g at 25 °C, representing one of the highest capacities reported for fibrous adsorbents and exceeding conventional metal oxide adsorbents by 3–5 fold. The aminated fibers demonstrated remarkable selectivity in complex water matrices, maintaining 82% removal efficiency even when competing anions were present at five-fold excess concentrations. FTIR analysis confirmed successful nitrile-to-amine conversion, evidenced by the disappearance of characteristic –C ≡ N bands and the emergence of N–H and C–N stretching vibrations, while preserving the fibrous morphology essential for practical applications. The adsorbent exhibited exceptional regenerability, maintaining 95% capacity over 10 consecutive cycles using mild acid regeneration, thereby reducing lifecycle costs by an order of magnitude compared to single-use materials.The combination of high capacity, superior selectivity, excellent regenerability, and compatibility with existing filtration infrastructure positions aminated PAN fibers as a commercially viable and sustainable solution for addressing global arsenic contamination challenges, particularly in resource-limited settings where cost-effectiveness and operational simplicity are critical.
Li et al. (Wed,) studied this question.