Surface-initiated ATRP of glycidyl methacrylate in the presence of divinylbenzene on porous polystyrene-based resins for boron adsorption

Abstract A boron sorbent having poly(glycidyl methacrylate) chains on the surface of porous polystyrene-based beads was prepared through atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP), followed by the reaction with a boron selective N-methyl- d -glucamine (NMDG). The grafting yield was controlled by the ATRP reaction time and the amount of crosslinking agent, divinylbenzene (DVB). Here, we have found that the high grafting yield does not guarantee high boron adsorption capacity. As the grafting yield increases to accommodate more boron chelating sites, the boron adsorption capacity increases to 1.5–2 times compared to the resin without grafting chains, but decreases dramatically at over 100% grafting yield. This loss of linear relation between boron adsorption capacity and grafting yield is probably due to the decreased porosity and pore size. The morphological contribution of the grafted chains on the boron capacity would provide new directions to design sorbent architecture for better adsorption capability.