Preparation and adsorption properties of Ni(ii) ion-imprinted polymers based on synthesized novel functional monomer

In this study, a novel functional monomer N -(1-(2,4-difluorophenyl)-2-(1 H -1,2,4-triazol-1-yl)ethyl)acrylamide (NDTEA) was designed and synthesized, and was used to prepare Ni( ii ) ion-imprinted polymers (Ni( ii )-IIPs). Sixteen kinds of Ni( ii )-IIP (Ni( ii )-IIP 1–16 ) and corresponding non-imprinted polymers (NIP 1–16 ) were prepared by precipitation polymerization method. After optimized condition experiment, Ni( ii )-IIP 5 possessed maximum adsorption capacity and better imprinting factor under optimal experimental conditions which indicated by equilibrium adsorption experiments. The morphology and structural characteristics of Ni( ii )-IIP 5 were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET). The adsorption selectivity of Ni( ii )-IIP 5 was analyzed by ICP-OES, and the results showed that Ni( ii )-IIP 5 had favorable selectivity recognition ability for Ni( ii ) when Cu( ii ), Co( ii ), and Cd( ii ) are used as competitive ions. The kinetic experiment indicated that the performance of Ni( ii ) adsorption on the surface of Ni( ii )-IIP 5 obeyed the pseudo-first-order model, and adsorption equilibrium was attained after 15 min. Isothermal adsorption process fitted to Langmuir and Freundlich isothermal adsorption models, simultaneously. The results showed that Ni( ii )-IIP 5 prepared by using a new functional monomer had better permeation selectivity and higher affinity for Ni( ii ), which also verified the rationality of the functional monomer design. At the same time, it also provided a broad application prospect for removal of Ni( ii ) in complex samples.