Facile fabrication of polyaniline/kapok fiber composites via a semidry method and application in adsorption and catalyst support

A facile approach was developed for the preparation of iodine-doped polyaniline/kapok fiber (PAn/KF) composites via a semidry method using iodine vapor as dopant and oxidant. The as-prepared PAn/KF composites with a uniform PAn coating exhibited good hydrophilicity and excellent adsorption performance toward a low concentration of dyes and precious metal ions. The adsorption rate of PAn/KF composites could reach 94.5 % with 50 mg/l of methylene blue. The adsorbed Au(III) was reduced in situ into elemental gold to obtain PAn/KF-supported Au composites because of the good redox activities of the coated PAn, which exhibited excellent catalytic activity in the catalytic reduction of 4-NP and MB in the presence of NaBH4.