Effect of ethylene diamine tetra‐acetic acid and functional monomers on the structure and adsorption properties of copper (II) ion‐imprinted polymers

Abstract

Novel copper (II) ion‐imprinted polymers (Cu‐IIPs) were synthesized by bulk polymerization using 1 mmol of copper (II) sulfate pentahydrate as the template ion, 1 mmol of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) as the ligand, and 4 mmol of 4‐vinyl pyridine (4‐VP) or methacrylic acid (MAA) as the functional monomer dissolved in a porogen of 20 mL of methanol. Polymerization was performed with 20 mmol of pentaerythritol triacrylate (PETA) as the crosslinker and 1 mmol of benzoyl peroxide as the initiator. The effect of pH, time, initial concentration of Cu2+, and selectivity tests on the adsorption capacity were investigated using flame atomic absorption spectroscopy (FAAS). The prepared polymers were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) analysis, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X‐ray diffraction (XRD). Adsorption capacity of Cu‐IIPs prepared with MAA increased from 0.794 to 2.163 mg g−1 at pH 6 within 24 hours, while Cu‐IIPs from MAA had high recognition ability with better recognition of Cu2+ than other ions. Thus, these Cu‐IIPs demonstrated potential application as an adsorbent for efficient removal of Cu2+ from aqueous solutions.