Polysulfobetaines as extractants for Sr(II) ions from its aqueous solutions

Abstract

In the present paper, we communicate sorption of Sr(II) ions on novel polysulfobetaines. N-vinyl imidazole was modified by crosslinking it with four different crosslinkers: N,N-methylene bisacrylamide, ethylene glycol dimethacrylate, divinyl benzene, and tripropylene glycol diacrylate. All the crosslinked networks were treated with sodium 2-bromoethane sulfonate to obtain novel polysulfobetaines. The polymers were characterized by FTIR, elemental analysis and SEM to find evidence of network formation and quaternization. These polymers were used as Sr(II) sorbents. Sr(II) uptake was determined by using a colorimetric method using Rose Bengal anionic dye and 0.1 N HCl as the eluent. SEM-EDS analysis of Sr(II)-loaded polymers as well as after elution on treatment with 0.1 N HCl was recorded to ascertain the uptake of Sr(II) ions. The experimental isotherm data were analyzed using the Freundlich and Temkin equations. The experimental data also were analyzed using pseudo-second order sorption kinetic model. Results show that the equilibrium data fit well in the Freundlich isotherm. Copyright (C) 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.