Synthesis, characterization and removal of lead from water samples using lead-ion imprinted polymer

In this work, several lead-ion imprinted polymers (Pb(II)-IIP) for pre-concentration and determination of lead by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry were synthesized based on the batch solid phase extraction. For this purpose, copolymerization of Pb(II)–morin complex was performed using 4-vinylpyridine (VP), ethyleneglycoldimethacrylate (EDMA) and 2,2′-azobisisobutyronitrile (AIBN) as functional monomer, cross-linking agent and initiator, respectively. The polymer particles were characterized by FT-IR and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The optimization process was carried out using a two-level fractional factorial design and the Box–Behnken matrix. Four variables including pH, shaking time, mass of polymer and morin were selected as the factors affecting the optimization process. The obtained results using the two-level fractional factorial design indicated that pH, mass of polymer and morin were statistically significant. Using the Box–Behnken design, the optimal conditions for the extraction of lead were 6.1, 29.2 mg and 2.7 mg, for pH, mass of polymer and morin, respectively. Under the optimized conditions, the detection limit of the proposed method was found to be 92 ng L−1, while the relative standard deviation for 10 replicates was 4%.