Synthesis of Molecularly Imprinted Polymer for the Selective Removal of Mercury
Keywords:
imprinted polymer, Hg2+, selective recognition, adsorption, toxicity, drinking waterAbstract
An adsorbent consisting of Hg2+ ion imprinted polymer (IIP) was prepared and used
for removal of Hg2+ from real water samples. IIP was synthesized by utilizing 1-
vinylimmidazole and methacrylic acid as complexing agent and monomer. IIP was
characterized by FT-IR, SEM and EDX to investigate the functionality, morphology and
elemental analysis. Adsorption isotherms and kinetics of Hg2+ ion on Hg2+ imprinted
polymer have been studied and adsorption phenomenon of IIP was found to follow
the Langmuir isotherm and pseudo second order kinetic model. Other parameters such
as pH, temperature, shaking speed, and agitation time affecting the adsorption of Hg2+
were also optimized. The relative selectivity coefficient of imprinted polymer for Hg2+ /
Cu2+, Hg2+ / Cr3+, Hg2+ /Co2+ were 122, 103, 76, respectively