Polyaniline (skin)/polyamide 6 (core) composite fiber: Preparation, characterization and application as a dye adsorbent

After polyamide 6 fiber being treated with camphorsulfonic acid, polyaniline (skin)/polyamide 6 (core) composite fiber was prepared via a facile in situ oxidation polymerization. The adsorption property of the as-prepared composite fiber was also investigated by selecting methyl orange as a model dye. In this preparation system, camphorsulfonic acid played an important role for the formation of that skin/core structure. By controlling the experimental conditions, the content of polyaniline skin on the composite fiber could be effectively adjusted. The adsorption efficiency on the composite fiber increased with the increase of the experimental temperature, and the adsorption/desorption kinetics and isotherms followed the pseudo-second-order and Langmuir models, respectively. The high adsorption capacity, convenient operation and regeneration process would render the composite fiber a promising candidate for the removal of organic dye from wastewater. Moreover, this work might shed some light on fabricating other conducting polymer-based novel adsorbents.