Preparation and characterization of surface imprinted polymer for selective sorption of uranium(VI)

A new surface ion-imprinted polymer for the selective sorption of U(VI) from aqueous solution was prepared by copolymerization of a binary complex of U(VI) with methacrylic acid. The adsorption behavior of U(VI) onto the imprinted polymer was investigated by batch experiments and the results demonstrated that the maximum adsorption capacity of U(VI)-imprinted and non-imprinted polymers was found to be 35.92 and 22.58 mg g −1 , respectively. The selectivity study revealed that the U(VI)-imprinted polymer exhibited excellent selectivity and affinity toward U(VI) in the presence of competitive metal ions.