Preparation and Evaluation of Self-Assembled Porous Microspheres–Fibers for Removal of Bisphenol A from Aqueous Solution

A novel design of PP-g-DMAEMA/PM composite fiber as an efficient adsorbent was demonstrated by combining graft polymerization of dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate (DMAEMA) with self-assembled modification of porous microspheres (PMs) on the surface of polypropylene (PP) fiber. The structure and composition of the adsorbent was characterized by BET, XPS, FTIR, DSC, FESEM, and water angle. The kinetics and isotherm data indicated that the adsorption of bisphenol A (BPA) could be well-fitted by a pseudo-second-order kinetic model and the Langmuir isotherm, respectively. The thermodynamic studies indicated that the adsorption reaction was a spontaneous and exothermic process. Because of the π–π interactions and hydrogen bonds between BPA and PP-g-DMAEMA/PM, the resulting fiber obtained a higher adsorption amount (44.43 mg/g) of BPA. The presence of NaCl in the solution could facilitate the adsorption process, whereas the strong acid or strong alkali conditions and higher temperature of the solution were unfavorable. Besides, the obtained fiber reusability without obvious deterioration in performance was demonstrated by at least seven repeated cycles.