Adsorption of copper ions by ion-imprinted simultaneous interpenetrating network hydrogel: Thermodynamics, morphology and mechanism

Cu(II) ion-imprinted hydrogel [Cu(II)-IIH] with interpenetrating polymer network (IPN) structure was prepared and its application to adsorb Cu(II) ions from aqueous solution was studied. The Cu(II)-IIH was prepared by UV-initiated simultaneous free radical/cationic hybrid polymerization. The adsorption capacity of the Cu(II)-IIH increased with the initial pH value of the solution, but decreased as the temperature rose from 303 to 323 K. Thermodynamic parameters such as the Gibbs free energy (ΔG°), enthalpy (ΔH°) and entropy (ΔS°) for the Cu(II) ions adsorption were evaluated. It was suggested that the adsorption was a spontaneous, exothermic process with further decrease in the degree of freedom at the solid-solution interface due to the negative ΔS° value. The morphology study indicated that the copper adsorption caused significant changes to the hydrogel structure. Finally the adsorption mechanism was studied by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The results indicated that copper adsorption was mainly through interactions with the amide and ether groups.