Polyaniline grafted melt-spun pet fibers for anionic dye removal

Abstract

Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) fibers were successfully prepared via the melt spinning method and modified by oxidative grafting polymerization of aniline monomer on the fiber surface in two different acidic media namely hydrochloric and sulphuric acid. The produced polyaniline grafted PET acquired improvement in its morphological properties and used as a pollutant sorbent for the removal of anionic direct dye namely Direct Violet 93 from aqueous solutions. Fibers of pure PET and polyaniline grafted PET in sulphuric acid was characterized using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and X-ray diffraction measurements. The dye removal was studied under different conditions including aniline monomer and initial dye concentra-tions. The results indicated that using sulphuric acid is more effective than hydrochloric acid for grafting of polyaniline onto PET fiber surface and for dye removal.