Multilayer Electrospun Nanofibrous Membranes for Enhanced Heavy Metal Remediation

This study presents the fabrication and performance analysis of multilayer membranes produced by electrospinning using polyacrylonitrile (PAN), chitosan (CS), and Nylon 6 (N6) for the removal of chromium (Cr) and cadmium (Cd) from water. The electrospun membranes were configured in six different multilayer structures. The morphological and mechanical properties of the membranes were evaluated using SEM and tensile testing. Adsorption experiments were performed using synthetic and real water samples from the Cutuchi River. The multilayer membranes demonstrated metal ion removal efficiencies up to 80.81% for Cr6+ and 78.98% for Cd2+ in synthetic water, and similar performance in real samples. These results validate the use of multilayer electrospun membranes as an effective, environmentally friendly method for water purification applications.