Porous Ceramic Nanofibrous Sponges for Fluoride Ion Removal from Contaminated Water

The adsorption of fluoride ions from contaminated water using activated alumina (Al2O3) is recognized as a sustainable water purification technology. Nevertheless, Al2O3-based adsorbents are still limited by their restricted number of active sites and specific surface area. In this research, we present an approach for the synthesis of three-dimensional ceramic materials composed of spiny and porous nanofibers through gelation electrospinning and staged calcination processes. As a feasibility demonstration, we design Ba-doped Al2O3 nanofibrous sponges (B2A NFS) with high specific surface area, multilevel cavities, and fluffy structure, achieving an impressive fluoride ion removal efficiency of 96.9% owing to their synergistic adsorption mechanisms. Furthermore, the B2A NFS can withstand compressive forces exceeding 100 g weights without collapsing, demonstrating resilience even after 50% compression and tens of thousands of cyclic fatigue tests. This work presents an efficient approach for treating fluoride ion wastewater toward the operational realization of water purification processes.