Flexible UiO-67(Zr)@cyclodextrin-based nanofiber membrane for efficient removal of ibuprofen

The efficient removal of pharmaceutical pollutants in groundwater has become an urgent issue in sewage treatment. β-cyclodextrin (β-CD), a polysaccharide and rich in raw materials, has broad applications in adsorption and separation due to its host–guest interaction with many molecules. In this paper, a flexible and water-insoluble UiO-67(Zr)-modified cyclodextrin-based nanofiber membrane (UiO-67@β-CD-NP) was synthesized via a combination of electrospinning and solvothermal methods. By virtue of the synergetic adsorption effect of cyclodextrin and MOFs, the UiO-67@β-CD-NP shows excellent performance for ibuprofen (IBP) removal. The adsorption of IBP onto UiO-67@β-CD-NP was well-fitted with the pseudo-second-order kinetic model and Freundlich isothermal model, yielding an adsorption capacity of 226.24 mg/g. Furthermore, the UiO-67@β-CD-NP nanofibers demonstrate a high removal rate of 100 % and exhibit good regenerability in dynamic adsorption experiments. After the filtration of UiO-67@β-CD-NP, the chemical oxygen demand (COD) concentration of IBP has evidently reduced below the discharge standard of pharmaceutical sewage. This study provides a simple and novel strategy for preparing low-cost and high-performance composite nanofiber membrane incorporating cyclodextrin and MOFs. This membrane holds great potential as a candidate for adsorption applications in practical pharmaceutical sewage treatment.