Selective Separation of Cd(II) Ion from Aqueous Solution by Cd(II)-Imprinted Polymers

Ion-imprinting polymer particles are prepared by copolymerization of methacrylic acid as monomer, ethylene glycol dimethacrylate as crosslinking agent and 2,2´-azo-bis-isobutyronitrile as initiator in the presence of Cd (II). Batch and column procedure are used for the determination of the characteristics of the Cd (II) solid phase extraction. The results obtained show that the maximum binding capacity, optimum pH and equilibrium binding time are 12.6 mg/g, pH 5.0, and 20 min, respectively. Sorption studies of Zn (II), and Cu (II) ions were also investigated using Cd (II)-ion imprinting polymers. It was observed that selectively adsorbed amount of Cd (II) ion on Cd (II)-imprinting polymers is higher than all other studied ions. When the beads were used repeatedly, their sorption capacity was showed feasibility. The precision (R.S.D.) and detection limit (3sigma) of the method were 4.8% and 0.76 mug L^-1, respectively. The prepared particles were shown to be promising for the preconcentration of cadmium in environmental samples.