Inverse suspension polymerization as a new tool for the synthesis of ion-imprinted polymers

Abstract

Ion-imprinted polymer beads are prepared for the first time by inverse suspension polymerization in mineral oil using nickel(II) as the template ion. As water is not used as the continuous phase, this new route of synthesis avoids the risk that the ion template leaves the suspension for the aqueous phase. The leaching of nickel from the resin beads is very good due to the large porosity of the polymer beads. The ratio between the ligand and the crosslinker has been increased leading to higher adsorption capacities. Comparing these values with those of the non-imprinted polymers and studying the effect of some interfering ions proves that an optimum can be found for the ratio ligand/crosslinker.