Dual modification of starches by phosphorylation and grafting and their application as adsorbents for the removal of phenol

In this article, starch phosphate- g -poly (methacrylic acids) (SP- g -PMAAs) were synthesized by dual modification. Firstly starch phosphate (SP) was synthesized by phosphorylation of native starch (NS) with mono sodium-phosphate and di sodium-phosphate. Afterwards, methacrylic acid (MAA) was grafted onto SP via free radical polymerization to synthesize SP- g -PMAAs. The structure of the SP and SP- g -PMAAs was investigated by phosphorus nuclear magnetic resonance, proton nuclear magnetic resonance and fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. The X-ray diffraction studies showed that the modification diminished the crystalline nature of SP and SP- g -PMAAs. The SEM images showed spherical or polyhedral smooth surface for the starch. After modification, SP and SP- g -PMAAs exhibited distorted and rougher surfaces which are assumed to be good for adsorption. The dual modification produced phosphate and carboxylic groups on the starch backbone. The phosphate and carboxylic groups have high tendency to make hydrogen bonding with phenol. The comparative adsorption studies of NS, SP and SP-g-PMAAs were checked for phenol. The experimental results showed adsorption efficiencies of 0.022 g/g, 0.082 g/g, 0.100 g/g, 0.148 g/g and 0.151 g/g for NS, SP, SP- g -PMAA1, SP- g -PMAA2 and SP- g -PMAA3, respectively. The following findings revealed that dual modification enhanced the adsorption ability of NS.