Preparation and characterization of p-tert-butyl thiacalix[4]arene imbedded flexible polyurethane foam: An efficient novel cationic dye adsorbent

In this study, a new type of flexible polyurethane foam containing p-tert-butyl thiacalix[4]arene (TC4A) macrocycle was synthesized. TC4A macrocycle was incorporated into polyurethane foam as a part of crosslinking agent as well as glycerol. Structural, morphological, thermal and mechanical properties of this prepared foam were studied and compared with a polyurethane foam based on only glycerol as crosslinking agent, by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), and dynamic mechanical thermal analysis (DMTA). The effect of introduction of TC4A crosslinker on cream time, rise time, apparent density, and water absorbency of the PU foams was evaluated. Moreover, it was shown that new TC4A-based polyurethane foam (TC-PUF) can be a high performance adsorbent for removal of malachite green from aqueous media using batch adsorption technique. The adsorption results indicated that TC-PUF has a high adsorption capacity of 58.82 mg/g for malachite green due to the presence of TC4A macrocycles in the structure of polyurethane foam. The kinetics of adsorption of malachite green was also investigated using the pseudo-first-order and pseudo-second-order kinetic models. The results of kinetic studies showed that the adsorption of malachite green onto TC-PUF followed pseudo-second-order kinetic model.