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The removal of heavy metal ions from aqueous solutions by hydrogels based on N-isopropylacrylamide and acrylic acid

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Abstract

The temperature- and pH-sensitive poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-co-acrylic acid) hydrogels, poly(NIPAM-co-AA), were synthesized by radical polymerization. The characterizations of hydrogels based on N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAM) and acrylic acid (AA) before and after adsorption of heavy metal ions was performed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. Heavy metal ions (Cr, Mn, Pb) adsorbed onto poly(NIPAM-co-AA) hydrogels were identified using the energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The mechanism of the water transport within the matrix of synthesized poly(NIPAM-co-AA) hydrogels at pH 4.5 is Super Case II diffusion, and at pH 6.8 corresponds to the non-Fickian diffusion mechanism. The effect of pH, temperature, contact time, and the initial concentration of heavy metals on the adsorption process of Cr(VI), Mn(II), and Pb(II) ions from aqueous solutions onto poly(NIPAM-co-AA) hydrogels were investigated. The kinetic and equilibrium data were best fitted by the pseudo-second-order model and Langmuir adsorption isotherm. Thermodynamic results indicate that the removal process of heavy metal ions from aqueous solutions by poly(NIPAM-co-AA) hydrogels was spontaneous and exothermic in nature. Maximum adsorption capacities of poly(NIPAM-co-AA) hydrogels for heavy metal ions decrease in the following order: Pb(II) > Cr(VI) > Mn(II).

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Acknowledgements

This work is part of the project MNTR TR-34012 financed by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development of the Republic of Serbia. The authors are grateful for the support provided by the Ministry.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Vocational High School for Technology and Art, Leskovac, 16000, Serbia

    Aleksandar Zdravković

  2. Faculty of Technology, University of Niš, Leskovac, 16000, Serbia

    Ljubiša Nikolić, Snežana Ilić-Stojanović, Vesna Nikolić & Sanja Petrović

  3. Faculty of Medicine, University of Niš, Niš, 18000, Serbia

    Stevo Najman & Žarko Mitić

  4. Institute for Biological Research “Siniša Stanković”, Belgrade, 11060, Serbia

    Ana Ćirić

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  1. Aleksandar Zdravković
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Zdravković, A., Nikolić, L., Ilić-Stojanović, S. et al. The removal of heavy metal ions from aqueous solutions by hydrogels based on N-isopropylacrylamide and acrylic acid. Polym. Bull. 75, 4797–4821 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00289-018-2295-0

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