Selective removal of Cu(II) from contaminated water using molecularly imprinted polymer

A synthetic molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) was prepared by noncovalent imprinting technique for the selective removal of Cu²⁺ from aqueous solutions. In the preparation of imprinted polymer, Cu²⁺ was used as the template, oleic acid as the functional monomer and divinylbenzene as the cross-linker. The surface morphologies and characteristics of the MIP were determined by BET, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), FTIR and energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer (EDS). The proper adsorption and selective recognition ability of the MIP were studied by an equilibrium-adsorption method. In general, the removal efficiency of Cu²⁺ increased rapidly with pH from 2 to 7 and decreased at a pH 8. The removal efficiency of Cu²⁺ increased with temperature from 25°C to 50°C. Competitive adsorption studies showed that the coexisting cations have no obvious influence on the adsorption of Cu²⁺. In addition, the variation in the adsorption ability of the MIP that was repeatedly used was investigated, and it showed excellent reproducibility.