Electrospun nanofibers containing p-nitrophenol imprinted nanoparticles for the hydrolysis of paraoxon

p-Nitrophenol imprinted nanoparticles with a size range of 150-300 nm in diameter were prepared through miniemulsion polymerization. The imprinted polymer exhibited higher adsorption capacity for p-nitrophenol than the nonimprinted polymer. The hydrolysis of paraoxon in aqueous phase can be accelerated in the presence of the p-nitrophenol imprinted nanoparticles. The hydrolysis rate of paraoxon incorporated with the imprinted nanoparticles was 2.83 x 10(-7) mol/(L center dot min), which was about 3.7 times higher compared to the non-imprinted nanoparticles, 12.7 times higher to the spontaneous hydrolysis. The nanoparticles have been mixed with polyacrylonitrile solution and electrospun into nanofibers, which can also be used to accelerate the hydrolysis of paraoxon and conveniently separated from liquid phase for further processing.