Fabrication of Molecularly Imprinted Electrospun Nanofibers with Mono-amidoxime Functional Ligand for Efficient Decontamination of Toxic Organophosphates

There is an urgent imperative to discover practical and efficacious artificial catalysts for the expeditious decontamination of toxic organophosphates. Herein, we propose a novel molecularly imprinted approach utilizing electrospun fiber scaffolds. Specifically, an amidoxime-based functional polymer (PMAOX) has been synthesized, which contains amidoxime groups that can act as nucleophiles and ligands for the formation of catalytic active sites. This polymer was blended with polyacrylonitrile (PAN), a well-processable material, to prepare a nanofiber mat using electrospinning techniques. Then, the amidoxime side groups on fiber surface were further cross-linked after the molecular coordination of templates to complete the molecularly imprinting process. This approach can not only enhance the content of functional molecularly imprinted polymers without affecting structural stability, but also combines surface MI technology to fully expose and leverage the advantages of active sites. The as prepared molecularly imprinted electrospun nanofibers MIF-Zn-PMAOX/PAN-6/4 catalyzes the degradation of paraoxon with a half-life of 32 min, and MIF-Ag-PMAOX/PAN catalyzes the degradation of parathion with a half-life of 18 min. The maximum catalytic rate evidence rate enhancements nearly 3700-fold of the self-hydrolysis. Thus, the mono-amidoxime based molecularly imprinted fibers demonstrate the versatility and superiority as self-detoxifying for organophosphates.