The effect of incorporating inorganic materials into quaternized polyacrylic polymer on its mechanical strength and adsorption behaviour for ibuprofen removal

Guang Zhang,Chendong Shuang,Shuangshuang Li,Liang Tan,Yunsong Mu,Aimin Li

doi:10.1038/s41598-020-62153-1

Abstract

Quaternized polyacrylic polymer has many applications in water treatment because of its ion exchange effects, but its further industrial applications are largely restricted because of its poor mechanical strength. In this work, a magnetic anion exchange resin with a polyacrylic matrix (MAP) was prepared by incorporation of Fe3O4 and subsequent modification with tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) to improve the mechanical strength and adsorption performance. The incorporation of Fe3O4 significantly enhanced the mechanical strength of the polymer and improved the sphericity rate after ball milling of the polyacrylic resin from 80.1% to 97.2% as a result of hydrogen bonding between the -OH groups on Fe3O4 and the -NH- groups on the resin matrix. Further TEOS modification could effectively prevent Fe3O4 particles from dislodging from the resins. The adsorption performance was evaluated by using ibuprofen as a model compound. The adsorption kinetics showed that adsorption equilibrium was reached in 150 min. XPS analysis indicated that hydrogen bonding greatly contributed to the adsorption of ibuprofen onto the MAP. Adsorption isotherm analysis indicated that the adsorption was endothermic.

Highlights

Quaternized polyacrylic polymer has many applications in water treatment because of its ion exchange effects, but its further industrial applications are largely restricted because of its poor mechanical strength
A novel magnetic anion exchange resin with a polyacrylic matrix (MAP) and high mechanical strength was prepared via a two-part procedure involving the incorporation of Fe3O4 and subsequent modification with tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS)
The water used for washing the Fe3O4-anion exchange resin D213 (AER) turned black, indicating that Fe3O4 particles were removed from the Fe3O4-AER matrix or surface during process because there was no resistance to the removal of Fe3O4 particles from the resin

Summary

Introduction

Quaternized polyacrylic polymer has many applications in water treatment because of its ion exchange effects, but its further industrial applications are largely restricted because of its poor mechanical strength. A magnetic anion exchange resin with a polyacrylic matrix (MAP) was prepared by incorporation of Fe3O4 and subsequent modification with tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) to improve the mechanical strength and adsorption performance. Negatively charged PPCPs, including clofibric acid, diclofenac, and ibuprofen, could be effectively removed by magnetic ion exchange resin, with better performance than that of mesoporous silica SBA-15, a metal-organic framework, and modified inorganic-organic pillared clays[18,19,20,21]. A novel magnetic anion exchange resin with a polyacrylic matrix (MAP) and high mechanical strength was prepared via a two-part procedure involving the incorporation of Fe3O4 and subsequent modification with tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS). The adsorption mechanism was investigated via X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS)

Methods

Results

Conclusion