Amination of glycidyl methacrylate-grafted polystyrene particles and their adsorption capacity for Nd3+ and Cd2+

A new chelating adsorbent was prepared by grafting glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) onto polystyrene (PS) particles using simultaneous radiation technique and amination of graft copolymers by reacting with diethylenetriamine. The effects of various parameters such as, irradiation doses, inhibitor concentrations, amination temperature, and reaction time were investigated. The grafting yield increased with irradiation dose to reach its maximum value at 15 kGy. The accelerative effect of solvent medium on the grafting yield was higher in THF than DMF. The addition of 0.001 % (wt) inhibitor to the reaction medium led to a sharp increase of grafting yield. The best conversion ratio was obtained at 115 °C during 24 h. By using a column separation technique, the adsorption behaviors of the adsorbent toward Cd²⁺ and Nd³⁺ in aqueous solution were examined. The adsorption amount of both Cd²⁺ and Nd³⁺ increased with initial ions concentration. The maximum equilibrium of Cd²⁺ and Nd³⁺ adsorbed ions were 18.1 and 17.58 mg/g, respectively. It was observed that the functionalized GMA-g-PS was reusable by desorbing with 0.1 M nitric acid almost without losing their adsorption capacity. FTIR test indicates that epoxide and amine groups were introduced onto GMA-g-PS and aminated GMA-g-PS, respectively. The T _g of graft copolymer slightly decreased, and that of aminated GMA-g-PS was higher than graft copolymer.