Preparation of a hydrophilic nanofiber membrane by electrospinning for application in the detection of NO2 by chemiluminescence

Abstract

The strong hydrophobicity of the PVDF membrane is prone to contamination that is hard to clean for long-term usage. In this study, hydrophilic and antifouling nanofiber membranes (NMs) were prepared with the hydrophilic polymer PVP and inorganic nanoparticles TiO₂NP_S. This NM was found to have excellent cleanability and good recyclability. Within 30 minutes, the residual ions could be removed by cleaning with deionized water. In alkaline solutions with the power of hydrogen (PH) ≤10, NM exhibits good alkaline resistance and recycling performance. It was also found, for the first time, that TiO₂NP_S could enhance the sensitivity of Luminol-NO₂ (L-NO₂) by 4 times. The detection of NO₂ concentration by NM presents an excellent linear relationship with the chemiluminescence reading. This linear relationship would aid quick and convenient detection of NO₂ using chemiluminescence.