A team of Texas Tech University researchers working in advanced textiles has found a new way to remove toxic dye pollutants from wastewater, and their approach is safer, cheaper and easier than traditional methods.
For this study, nanoparticles were added into a polymer solution, which was then electrospun into nanofibers. When the composite nanoparticle/nanofiber webs were immersed in water containing a reddish dye called Rhodamine B (RhB), a chemical reaction occurred.
Researchers found that 80 percent of RhB was degraded within six hours, and the remaining 20 percent degraded slowly, completely disappearing after 49 days.
ttu.edu
