Amphiphilic PMMA/PEI core–shell nanoparticles as polymeric adsorbents to remove heavy metal pollutants

Amphiphilic nanoparticles with poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) cores and poly(ethyleneimine) (PEI) shells were successfully synthesized through a one-step emulsifier-free polymerization method. The morphologies of PMMA/PEI nanoparticles were spherical in shape with uniform size distribution and well-defined core–shell nanostructure illustrated by field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM). PMMA/PEI core–shell nanoparticles were applied as novel polymeric adsorbents to remove heavy metal pollutants. In present work, copper (II) ions were selected as the target pollutants to evaluate these nanoparticles adsorption capability. It was investigated by varying solution pH, weight ratio of nanoparticles to copper (II) ions, adsorption time and adsorption temperature, respectively. The maximum copper (II) ions adsorbed onto PMMA/PEI core–shell nanoparticles was 14 mg/g obtained under simple and fast experimental conditions, indicating these nanoparticles can be used as effective and practical polymeric adsorbents.