Adsorption‐desorption behavior of phenols on novel polymers containing the pyrrolidinone moiety

Abstract

AbstractCrosslinked polymers having a pyrrolidinone moiety (CPS, CPES, and CVP) were synthesized by radical copolymerization of 4‐(2‐oxo‐1‐pyrrolidinyl)methylstyrene, 4‐[2‐(2‐oxo‐1‐pyrrolidinyl)ethoxy]methylstyrene, or 2‐vinylpyrrolidinone with divinylbenzene in the presence of AIBN as a radical initiator. The adsorption‐desorption behavior of phenols on these polymers was investigated. The polymers with spacers between the polymer main chain and pyrrolidinone moiety appeared to have a superior adsorption capability to those without such spacers. The amount of phenol adsorbed on the polymers in a solvent decreased in the following order: water > chloroform > methanol. In methanol, the interaction between the polymers and phenol was suggested to come only from charge‐transfer stacking (C–T stacking), whereas in chloroform the interaction was caused mainly by both hydrogen bonding and C–T stacking. The interaction in water was attributed not only to both hydrogen bonding and C–T stacking, but also to a hydrophobic interaction. Characterization of polymers (CVP) containing adsorbed phenol was carried out by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The TGA curves indicated a two step weight‐decrease, namely the first step in the temperature ranging from ca. 100‐200°C was attributed to the desorption of phenol while the second step in the temperature ranging from ca. 350‐500°C was based on thermal decomposition of the polymers. The desorption of phenol adsorbed on the polymers in water indicated an inverse tendency to the adsorption; that is, the amount of phenol desorbed from the polymers without a spacer was more than those from the polymers with spacers. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.