Synthesis process and adsorption performance of temperature-sensitive ion-imprinted porous microspheres (ReO4−-TIIM) for the selective separation of ReO4−

Ion imprinted polymers (IPs) are very promising for separation processes because of their intended selectivity. However, the trade-off between their selectivity and desorption leads to difficulties in reusing them, which seriously hampers their development. Herein, we design ReO4− temperature sensitive ion-imprinted porous microspheres (ReO4−-TIIM) for the selective separation of ReO4− from aqueous solutions. The introduction of the temperature-sensitive block polymer PDEA-b-P(DEA-co-AM) allowed for a highly controlled blotting site in the ReO4−-TIIM matrix, maintaining a high balance of selectivity and desorption. Pickering emulsion polymerization was used to provide the ReO4−-TIIM with a porous and interoperable structure, thereby enhancing their mass transfer rate and adsorption performance. The adsorption properties of ReO4−-TIIM prepared under optimum process conditions were investigated by adsorption kinetics and adsorption thermodynamics. FTIR, SEM, and BET-specific surface area analyses fully characterized their structure and morphology. The design of the ReO4−-TIIM offers a new approach to the industrial precision separation of Re.