Synthesis and characterization of zinc(II) methacrylate monomer complex and adsorption properties of zinc(II) ion-imprinted polymer

Abstract

A zinc(II) centred [Zn(maa)2(vim)2] complex was synthesised using methacrylic acid (maaH) and 1-vinylimidazole (vim) containing vinylic groups suitable for polymerization. The structure of the monomer complex was elucidated by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and single-crystal X-ray diffraction methods. A new Zn(II)-based imprinted polymer (Zn(II)-IIP) was prepared with [Zn(maa)2(vim)2] as monomer complex and ethylen glikol dimethacylate (EGDMA) as crosslinker in the presence of 2,2′-azobisisobutyronitrile (AIBN) as initiator to eliminate Zn(II) from aqueous solutions. The prepared Zn(II)-IIP was characterized by FT-IR, TGA, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The adsorption performance of Zn(II)-IIP in aqueous solutions was investigated too. The maximum adsorption of Zn(II) ions on to the Zn(II)-IIP particles was 41.5 mg/g at pH: 6.0. The zinc(II) ion content of the solutions was determined by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES). The Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models were applied comparatively to experimental results.