Screening of polymer precursors for preparation of nitrate imprinted polymer

Abstract

The molecular imprinting technique (MIT) has received considerable attention in the development of anion recognition materials which can be used in different applications. Major difficulty in molecular imprinting polymer is the selection of suitable polymer precursor such as template, type of monomer, amount of monomer and crosslinker that may influence the nitrate imprinted polymer (IIP) preparation. The main purpose of this study is to evaluate the optimum parameters (type of template, type of monomer, amount monomer and crosslinker) during polymerization process. The optimum polymer particles were prepared by bulk polymerization using sodium nitrate as a template, allylthiourea as functional monomer, ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA) as a cross linker and acetonitrile and dimethylsulfoxide as solvent by heating in an oil bath at 60 °C for 20 hour. The non imprinted polymer (NIP) was synthesized using the same method but without template molecule. The optimal condition of nitrate imprinted polymer synthesis was 3 mmol of monomer, 20 mmol of cross linker and 6 ml of solvent used with adsorption capacity of 14.06 mg/g and 1.27 imprinting factor. The IIP and NIP were characterized using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The FTIR analysis were showed that IIP and NIP were successfully synthesized. As conclusion from this research shows that the IIP produced has potential in to be used as nitrate adsorption in aqueous water.