Hierarchically structured PVP porous fibers derived from the embedding of NaY zeolite synergize the adsorption of benzene

Composite fibers synthesized via the electrospinning technique have been extensively investigated as the adsorbent for the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) because of their synergistic effect. Herein, the novel hierarchically structured polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) porous fibers embedded with microporous NaY zeolite are fabricated by employing the electrospinning method. The parameters such as the electrospinning voltage and flow rate as well as the particle sizes of NaY zeolite are optimized further for the preparation of composite fibers featured with homogeneous morphology and superior property. Consequently, the composite fibers with large specific area synthesized under the optimized process present an excellent benzene adsorption capacity of 667 mg/g, which can be attributed to synergistic effect originated from the hierarchical structure configured with porous PVP and microporous NaY zeolite. Our work does not only demonstrate the promising potential of the as-fabricated composite fibers for VOCs due to its advantages of low cost and large-scale production, but also provides valuable insights into the design and utilization of zeolite/polymer composite fibers for practical applications.