Design of ligand-based imprinted polymers for dyes sequestration from aqueous solution: Experimental and computational studies
摘要
This research was aimed at assessing the effectiveness of the molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs), synthesized by incorporating 4-hydroxy-3-methoxybenzylidene-sulfamethoxazole (4OH-MBS-3) ligand into a crosslinked polymer, as potential adsorbents for the removal of brilliant green (BRG) and crystal violet (CV) dyes from wastewater. The samples were characterized by techniques including X-ray diffractometry (XRD), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) to understand the materials’ crystallinity, surface morphology, surface functional groups, and thermal stability, respectively. In investigating the adsorption process, solution pH, contact time, initial dye concentration, and temperature were varied. Increases in each parameter favored the adsorption process up to their optimal levels, except for temperature, where a decrease in adsorption efficiency was observed as the temperature increased. Using 0.05 g of MIP, approximately 99.17% of BRG and 99.81% of MG were successfully removed. The experimental data exhibited a strong fit with both the Freundlich (R² = 0.9923 to 0.9999) and Temkin (R² = 0.9922 to 0.9999) isotherm models, while the adsorption process followed pseudo-second-order kinetics (R² = 0.9998 to 1.0000). The thermodynamic results showed that the adsorption of BRG and CV on the adsorbents was spontaneous and exothermic under the tested temperature conditions. Validation of the adsorbents using real textile wastewater samples, yielded positive outcomes (˃89% adsorption). Additionally, density functional theory (DFT) was employed to complement the experimental analysis.