Synthesis and characterization of epoxy resin-based ion-imprinted polymer for selective removal of copper ions

With the continuous development of the concept of green chemistry, more attention is being paid to the selective capture of copper (II) from wastewater and its recovery and reuse. Ion imprinting technology is widely used to remove heavy metals from aqueous solutions due to its high selectivity. In this work, Cu(II) imprinted polymer (Cu(II)-IIP) was prepared by stepwise polymerization using Cu(II) ions as the template ions, PEG-600 as a pore-forming agent, epoxy resin as the carrier, and polyethylene polyamine as curing agent and complexing agent. The influences of solution pH, reaction temperature, reaction time and initial solubility of metal ions on its adsorption ability were systematically examined. The studies showed that the maximum adsorption quantity was 91.58 mg/g when pH=5 and T=318 K. The adsorption for Cu(II) of the Cu(II)-IIP was considered to be the monolayer chemisorption and spontaneous endothermic process. In the presence of multiple coexisting ions, Cu(II)-IIP had high selectivity for Cu(II). After five adsorption-desorption cycles, high removal rate could still be obtained, which means that the material provides a feasible method for treating wastewater containing Cu(II) ions.