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 hydroxybutyl acrylate to acrylamide was optimized with a constant amount of methylene bisacrylamide (MBA) as a cross-linking agent. In the second series, the amount of MBA was changed at a fixed monomer ratio. The structure of the copolymers was confirmed by the FTIR method. Swelling parameters and mechanical properties were tested. Hydrogels with a high Young’s modulus and a high 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+.