Synthesis of polyacrylate/polyethylene glycol interpenetrating network hydrogel and its sorption of heavy-metal ions

Abstract

A simple two-step aqueous polymerization method was introduced to synthesize a polyacrylate/polyethylene glycol (PAC/PEG) interpenetrating network (IPN) hydrogel. On the basis of the effects of the ratio of PAC to PEG, neutralization degree, heavy-metal ion concentration, and temperature on the adsorption behavior of PAC/PEG IPN hydrogel toward Ni^{2 +}, Cr^{3 +} and Cd^{2 +}, the preparation conditions were optimized. In our system, the greatest amount of Ni^{2 +}, Cr^{3 +} and Cd^{2 +} adsorbed were 102.34, 49.38 and 33.41 mg g^{- 1}, respectively. The adsorption abilities of a dried PAC/PEG composite and a swollen PAC/PEG IPN hydrogel were compared. It was found that the efficiency of removing metal ions using the swollen hydrogel was greater than that using the dried composite. The adsorption mechanism and model are also discussed.

• hydrogel
• interpenetrating network
• polyacrylate/polyethylene glycol
• heavy-metal adsorption

Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge the joint support of the National High Technology Research and Development Program of China (863 Program) (no. SQ2008AA03Z2470974), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (no. 50572030, 50842027) and the Key Scientific Technology Program of Fujian, China (no. 2005HZ01-4 and no. 2007HZ0001-3).