A molecularly imprinted hybrid (MIH) which wraps imprinted linear copolymer with SiO2 moieties was fabricated for selective adsorption of bisphenol A (BPA). Styrene (St) and methyl methacrylate (MMA) monomers were selected to specifically interact with BPA molecules via π-π interaction and create hydrophobic microenvironment of the copolymer, respectively. The copolymer was then covalently coated with SiO2 clusters with a coupling agent, 3-methacryloxylpropyltrimethoxysilane (MPS), in order to preserve the imprinted conformation. In addition, the external SiO2 shell also suppressed non-specific hydrophobic interactions and promoted the water compatibility of the MIH. The optimal BPA/St/MMA/MPS/tetraethyl orthosilicate molar ratio for the desired adsorption performance was 1/2/5/5/15. The resulting MIH exhibited a high BPA adsorption capacity of 40.3 mg/g, an extraordinarily high imprinting factor of 14, and a large association constant of 3.8×104 M-1. On the top of that, it quickly reached an adsorption equilibrium within 20 min and showed a high selectivity factor of 2-24 for BPA molecules over the other three endocrine disrupting chemicals according to their sizes and geometries. These outstanding adsorption features suggested that the MIH is promising to be a target-selective adsorbent for advanced water purification

Imprinted copolymer/SiO2 hybrid for selective adsorption of bisphenol A

2019 Fall National Meeting

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