Preparation and characterisation of a novel copper-imprinted polymer based on β-cyclodextrin copolymers for selective determination of Cu2+ ions

A novel ion-imprinted polymer (IIP) using (6- O -butene diacid ester)-β-cyclodextrin (β-CD-MAH) as the functional monomer and copper ions as the template was developed for Cu 2+ sensing. First, reactive β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) monomers with vinyl carboxylic acid functional groups were synthesised and were co-polymerised with styrene via radical polymerisation. Then, the β-CD copolymers were complexed with Cu 2+ in order to obtain the IIP. The imprinting effect was realised by removing the template ions from the imprinted polymer. The structure, composition and morphology of the IIP were characterised by Fourier transform IR spectroscopy, energy-dispersive spectroscopy and field-emission SEM. The adsorption capacity was investigated by UV–visible spectroscopy in batch operation mode. The maximum adsorption capacity for the Cu 2+ template ions was 28.91 mg g −1 , and the adsorption selectivity was clearly illustrated from the increased sorption affinity towards Cu 2+ ions over other competing ions. The adsorption was affected by the pH of the aqueous medium, and enhanced adsorption capacity was observed at pH 5. The prepared IIP could be used 10 times after its regeneration without significant loss of the adsorption capacity. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry