Direct synthesis of surface molecularly imprinted polymers based on vinyl–SiO2 nanospheres for recognition of bisphenol A

Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIP) with high performance in selectively recognizing bisphenol A (BPA) were prepared by using a novel and facile surface molecular-imprinting technique. Vinyl-functionalized, monodispersed silica spheres were synthesized by a one-step emulsion reaction in aqueous solution. Then, BPA surface molecularly imprinted polymers (SMIP) were prepared by polymerization with 4-vinylpyridine as the functional monomer and ethylene glycol dimethacrylate as the crosslinker. Maximal sorption capacity ( Q max ) of the resulting SMIP was up to 600 μmol g −1 , while that of nonimprinted polymers was only 314.68 μmol g −1 . Kinetic binding study showed that sorption capacity reached 70% of Q max in 20 min and sorption equilibrium at 80 min. SMIP had excellent accessibility and affinity toward BPA, for the selectivity coefficients of SMIP for BPA in respect to phenol, p-tert -butylphenol, and o -phenylphenol were 3.39, 3.35, and 3.02, respectively. The reusage process verified the SMIP owning admirably stable adsorption capacity toward BPA for eight times. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 2013