Preparation of indole surface molecularly imprinted polymer by atom transfer radical emulsion polymerization and its adsorption performance

The indole molecularly imprinted polymer (indole-MIP) was synthesized by atom transfer radical emulsion polymerization (ATREP). The novel adsorbent was used to adsorb indole from fuel oil. The indole-MIP had a high selectivity to indole, and the mass transfer limitations were overcome. The property and morphology of indole-MIP were described by a series of characterization methods. A great specific area and more pores of indole-MIP were shown. The static adsorption experiments display that equilibrium adsorption capacity of indole-MIP was 34.488 mg/g. The adsorption process was spontaneous by thermodynamic analysis, and a dense mass of indole was adsorbed onto indole-MIP at a proper low temperature (298 K). Pseudo-second-order kinetic model was more fitted with experimental data. Both Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models were obeyed by adsorption isotherm test. The selective and competitive performances of indole-MIP were favorable, and the regeneration capacity was appreciable.