Preparation and characterisation of photoresponsive molecularly imprinted polymer based on 5-[(4-(methacryloyloxy) phenyl) diazenyl] isophthalic acid for the determination of sulfamethazine

Abstract

Combining with the surface imprinting technique, a novel molecularly imprinted polymer with core–shell structure was designed and successfully synthesised, coated on the surface of SiO2 with functionalised photoresponsive monomer, 5-[(4-(methacryloyloxy) phenyl) diazenyl] isophthalic acid. It is worth noting that through a series of absorption experiments, the prepared polymer can be controlled by light to selectively absorb (irradiation of 365 nm) and release (irradiation of 440 nm or under darkness) sulfamethazine (SMZ) with a maximal absorption quantity of 28.8 mg⋅g−1 and prominent selectivity (imprinting factor = 2.01). Moreover, the polymer presented prominent recyclability, with negligible attenuation in performance after four loops of light-actuated absorption and discharge of SMZ. Finally, the polymer was successfully applied as the solid-phase extractant in determining the SMZ content in tap water, with a maximum recovery rate of 96.7 %.