Crosslinked poly(hydroxybutyl acrylate-co-acrylamide) based hydrogels: synthesis, characterization, and performance evaluation in heavy metal removal

Abstract

By radical polymerization, two series of superabsorbent hydrogels of hydroxybutyl acrylate and acrylamide copolymers, poly(HBA-co-AAm), were obtained. In the first series, the ratio of hydroxy-butyl acrylate to acrylamide was optimized with aconstant amount of methylene bisacrylamide (MBA) as across-linking agent. In the second series, the amount of MBA was changed at afixed monomer ratio. The structure of the copolymers was confirmed by the FTIR method. Swelling parameters and mechani-cal properties were tested. Hydrogels with ahigh Young’s modulus and ahigh degree of swelling were selected for the study of adsorption properties towards Co2+, Ni2+ and Cd2+ ions. The influence of basic factors such as adsorbent dose, exposure time and pH on adsorption efficiency was also investigated. The ability to adsorb heavy metal ions changed as follows: Co2+> Ni2+> Cd2+.

Keywords

• super absorbent polymers
• hydroxybutyl acrylate
• acrylamide
• adsorption properties
• heavy metal ions removal