Powerful Reactive Sorption of Silver(I) and Mercury(II) onto Poly(o-phenylenediamine) Microparticles

The strong adsorbability of Ag(I) and Hg(II) ions onto fine poly(o-phenylenediamine) (PoPD) microparticles synthesized through a chemically oxidative polymerization of o-phenylenediamine was systematically examined and PoPD/Ag nanocomposites were facilely prepared through the reactive sorption method. The effect of the (NH4)2S2O8 oxidant/o-phenylenediamine monomer ratio on the polymerization yield, macromolecular structure, conductivity, and insolubility of the PoPD microparticles was studied. The Ag(I) adsorbability of the microparticles was significantly optimized by varying the oxidant/monomer ratio, doping state, Ag(I) concentration, sorption time, and solution pH. The Ag(I) adsorbance steadily increases with changing oxidant/monomer molar ratio from 3/1 to 1/1, reaching up to the highest Ag(I) adsorbance of 533 mg·g−1 at the oxidant/monomer ratio of 1/1. The sorption process fits the pseudosecond-order kinetics. The sorption is rapid because both the adsorbance and adsorptivity within 30 min reach up...