The Use of Bis[4(2-hydroxy-3-methacryloyloxypropoxy)phenyl]sulfide in Preparation of Microspheres with Pendant Amine Groups as a Heavy Metal Sorbent

Abstract

Bis[4(2-hydroxy-3-methacryloyloxypropoxy)phenyl]sulfide-based copolymer microspheres with pendant amine groups are shown to be very efficient in removing Cu(II), Zn(II), Cd(II), and Pb(II) ions from aqueous solutions. Bis(4(2-hydroxy-3-methacryloyloxypropoxy)phenyl)sulfide (1 mol) and glycidyl methacrylate (1 mol) copolymer microspheres have been prepared by suspension-emulsion polymerisation in the presence of pore forming diluents. Amine functions have been introduced into the surface copolymers by modification of the epoxy groups with etylenediamine, diethylenetriamine, or triethylenetetramine. The swelling properties of parent and modified copolymers as well as thermal properties were investigated using a differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) and thermogravimetric analysis (TG). The Langmuir, Freundlich, and Temkin isotherm models are used to describe the adsorption characteristics of the sorbents. Additionally, the adsorption results in the quaternary systems containing Cu(II), Zn(II), Cd(II), and Pb(II) with different ratios of their initial concentrations are presented.