Nicotinamide-Modified poly(HEMA-GMA)-Nic Cryogels for Removal of Pesticides

Chlordane is only one of the persistent pesticides used in some countries despite the ban. Removal of chlordane, a severe threat to all living things, was performed using nicotinamide-modified poly (2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate-glycidyl methacrylate), poly(HEMA-GMA)-Nic, polymeric cryogels in this study. Pesticides are practically insoluble in water. For that reason, ethanol is used as a solvent which is not chemically dangerous and easily accessible in every laboratory. As an adsorbent, poly (HEMA-GMA) polymeric cryogels previously synthesized in the literature have been modified using nicotinamide. The modification of poly(HEMA-GMA) with nicotinamide is the first in the literature. Removal of chlordane in alcohol medium has been accomplished exploiting the alcoho-phobic interaction, which was the first indication in our previous study. Structural analysis of poly(HEMA-GMA)-Nic was performed using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and elemental analysis methods. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to understand the surface morphology of cryogels. Surface area and cavity volume calculations were determined by applying N 2 adsorption method and swelling test. The interaction time and maximum adsorption capacity were identified as 5 minutes and 64.61 mg chlordane/g cryogel for 300 mg/L chlordane concentration and 108.818 mg chlordane/g cryogel for 800 mg/L chlordane concentration during the adsorption experiments. Cyclohexane, toluene, chloroform, dichloromethane, acetone, and acetonitrile were used as solvent to observe the solvent effect on adsorption of chlordane onto the polymeric material. As expected, the removal of chlordane was performed with the highest adsorption performance in cyclohexane with the lowest dielectric constant.