TY - JOUR
T1 - Green electrospinning synthesis of NiO/Ni nanofiber for efficient soap removal from crude biodiesel
AU - Salmi, Chaima
AU - Hayyan, Adeeb
AU - Abed, Khalid M.
AU - Basirun, Wan Jefrey
AU - Ba-Abbad, Muneer M.
AU - Meneceur, Souhaila
AU - Laouini, Salah Eddine
AU - Mohammed, Hamdi Ali
AU - Sen Gupta, Bhaskar
AU - Ang, Bee Chin
AU - Saleh, Jehad
AU - Alanazi, Yousef Mohammed
PY - 2025/12
Y1 - 2025/12
N2 - This study explores the eco-friendly synthesis of NiO/Ni nanocomposites (NC) utilizing Pistacia lentiscus leaf extract as a natural reducing agent, aimed at enhancing biodiesel purification through efficient soap removal. The NiO/Ni NCs were synthesized as powders and as electrospun nanofibers (NiO/Ni@PVA), and were characterized using UV–visible spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and BET surface area analysis. The NiO/Ni@PVA nanofibers exhibited superior soap removal efficiency, reducing the soap content from 4671 ppm to 13.5 ppm, compared to 19.5 ppm for the powdered form. The BET analysis confirmed a mesoporous structure with a specific surface area of 4.36 m²/g and a pore diameter of ~16 nm, facilitating enhanced molecular diffusion and adsorption. The TGA results revealed that NiO/Ni NC exhibited minimal total mass loss of 8.14% up to 800 °C, confirming excellent thermal stability. In contrast, NiO/Ni@PVA nanofibers showed multi-step degradation with a total loss of ~96.7%, primarily due to PVA decomposition, leaving thermally stable NiO/Ni residues. The effectiveness of these NCs in soap removal was evaluated under varying contact times, adsorbent dosages, and stirring speeds. Adsorption isotherm analyses indicated a chemisorption-dominated mechanism with strong monolayer binding, supported by high qₘₐₓ values of 2007 mg/g for NiO/Ni and 2497 mg/g for NiO/Ni@PVA, and excellent correlation with the Langmuir adsorption isotherm. The nanofibers also demonstrated high reusability across multiple cycles. Additionally, computational simulations validated the strong interaction between the soap molecules and the nanocomposite surface. These findings underscore the potential of NiO/Ni@PVA nanofibers as thermally stable, efficient, reusable, and environmentally friendly adsorbents for sustainable biodiesel purification.
AB - This study explores the eco-friendly synthesis of NiO/Ni nanocomposites (NC) utilizing Pistacia lentiscus leaf extract as a natural reducing agent, aimed at enhancing biodiesel purification through efficient soap removal. The NiO/Ni NCs were synthesized as powders and as electrospun nanofibers (NiO/Ni@PVA), and were characterized using UV–visible spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and BET surface area analysis. The NiO/Ni@PVA nanofibers exhibited superior soap removal efficiency, reducing the soap content from 4671 ppm to 13.5 ppm, compared to 19.5 ppm for the powdered form. The BET analysis confirmed a mesoporous structure with a specific surface area of 4.36 m²/g and a pore diameter of ~16 nm, facilitating enhanced molecular diffusion and adsorption. The TGA results revealed that NiO/Ni NC exhibited minimal total mass loss of 8.14% up to 800 °C, confirming excellent thermal stability. In contrast, NiO/Ni@PVA nanofibers showed multi-step degradation with a total loss of ~96.7%, primarily due to PVA decomposition, leaving thermally stable NiO/Ni residues. The effectiveness of these NCs in soap removal was evaluated under varying contact times, adsorbent dosages, and stirring speeds. Adsorption isotherm analyses indicated a chemisorption-dominated mechanism with strong monolayer binding, supported by high qₘₐₓ values of 2007 mg/g for NiO/Ni and 2497 mg/g for NiO/Ni@PVA, and excellent correlation with the Langmuir adsorption isotherm. The nanofibers also demonstrated high reusability across multiple cycles. Additionally, computational simulations validated the strong interaction between the soap molecules and the nanocomposite surface. These findings underscore the potential of NiO/Ni@PVA nanofibers as thermally stable, efficient, reusable, and environmentally friendly adsorbents for sustainable biodiesel purification.
KW - Biodiesel purification
KW - Soap removal
KW - Electrospinning
KW - Nanoparticle adsorption
KW - Kinetic modeling
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105016784367
U2 - 10.1016/j.mtcomm.2025.113830
DO - 10.1016/j.mtcomm.2025.113830
M3 - Article
SN - 2352-4928
VL - 49
JO - Materials Today Communications
JF - Materials Today Communications
M1 - 113830
ER -