Phosphorylated styrene-butadiene rubber as an adsorbent for the removal of Cd(II) from aqueous solution

ABSTRACT

In the present study, the new phosphorylated polymer has been synthesised via chemical modification of styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR). The successful modification of the polymer and the presence of the functional group are determined using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and thermogravimetry analysis (TGA). The adsorption property of the new polymer towards Cd (II) ions was investigated. The influence of the in/itial concentration of Cd (II) ions, temperature, pH of the solution, polymer mass, contact time between the solid and liquid phases is studied for the understanding of their effect on the sorption process. The Langmuir, Freundlich, Temkin and Dubinin-Radushkevich models are applied for the experimental data assessment of the sorption isotherms. The kinetic analyses of the sorption processes were evaluated by using pseudo-first-order, pseudo-second-order and intra-particle diffusion models. With the calculation of thermodynamic parameters (free energy, enthalpy, and entropy), it was found that the process has a spontaneous and endothermic nature. The adsorption characteristics of the phosphorylated polymer allow considering that it has potential applications for the removal of the Cd (II) ions from water.

KEYWORDS:

• Styrene-butadiene rubber
• modification
• adsorbent
• Cd (II) ions

Acknowledgments

The authors thank Elvin Aliyev and Karol Wolski for their help.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.