Role of Polymerized Micelles on the Calcium Carbonate Mineralization of Nanofibers

Calcium carbonate (CaCO 3 ) is a well-known chemical adsorbent. In this study, anthraquinone dye adsorption by CaCO 3 -mineralized nanofibers was evaluated with respect to the chemistry and structure of ionic particles that were seeded into the fibers. Reacted and unreacted surfmers of polyoxyethylene-1-(alkyloxylmethyl) alkyl ether sulfuric ester ammonium salt (PAMS) and polyoxyethylene alkylphenyl ether ammonium sulfate (PAPS) were added to aqueous poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) solutions at concentrations above their critical micelle concentration prior to electrospinning. The roles of these polymerized micelles on CaCO 3 mineralization (produced by dipping PVA nanofibers into alternating solutions of aqueous CaCl 2 and NaCO 3 ) were compared to the roles of calcium chloride (CaCl 2 ) and unseeded PVA nanofibers. Seeding nanofibers with reacted PAMS and PAPS resulted in higher degrees of CaCO 3 mineralization than those with unreacted surfmers. PAPS caused even greater degrees of CaCO 3 mineralization than other seeds, including PAMS. Likewise, dye absorption was greatest among the vaterite CaCO 3 containing surfaces that were along nanofibers seeded with PAPS. Complexation between the PAMS and PVA hydroxyl groups had reduced their ability to attract calcium ions to the surfaces of nanofibers for mineralization, which also suppressed dye adsorption.