Bimetallic MOF nanoparticles decorated on polyacrylonitrile-based electrospun nanofiber membranes for synergistic antibacterial activity and organic dye adsorption.

Electrospun nanofiber membranes functionalized with metal-organic framework (MOF) are considered as a promising materials for removal contaminants from wastewater. In this study, a bottom-up approach was proposed for the preparation bimetallic MOF based polyacrylonitrile (PAN) electrospun nanofiber membranes. Polydopamine (PDA)-modified PAN nanofiber membranes increased the anchoring of Co/Zn-MOF nanoparticles, further leading to the formation of Co/Zn-MOF@PDA-PAN nanofiber membranes with secondary growth method. With the increasing of 2-MIM concentration, the surface roughness and hydrophilicity of Co/Zn-MOF@PDA-PAN exhibited the increasing tendency. In addition, the antibacterials rates of Co/Zn-MOF@PDA-PAN were 59.6% and 64.9% against Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) after 1h, rising to over 99.9% after 24h, demonstrating rapid and effective antibacterial activity. Importantly, membranes showed excellent anti-adhesion properties against two experimental strains. The release of ROS from Co/Zn-MOF could disrupt bacterial physiological activities, leading to their death, which could be the primary antibacterial mechanism of nanofiber membranes. The adsorption isotherm of MOF@PAN was characterized by the Langmuir model, showing a maximum adsorption capacity of 564 mg/g for SY, while kinetic data were best fitted with the pseudo-second-order model. The bimetallic MOF-based nanofiber membranes will be an effective and promising materials for antibacterial applications and water purification.