Electrosynthesis and Characterization of Metal Chelate Imprinted Poly- o -Phenylenediamine Films

Novel molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) were synthesized by the electrochemical polymerization of o-phenylenediamine (o-PD) using cyclic voltammetry in the presence of Cu(II)-ethylenediaminetetraacetate chelate (Cu(II)-EDTA), which acted as a template. The resultant polymers were characterized by UV-Vis spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), differential pulse voltammetry (DPV), and quartz crystal microbalance (QCM). UV-Vis spectral analysis indicated that a higher degree poly-o-phenylenediamine (PoPD) was obtained at pH >= 5.0. XPS analysis clearly showed the successful embedding of a Cu(II)-EDTA chelate in the PoPD film and, therefore, hydrogen bonding was a major interaction between the template and the PoPD film. DPV analysis confirmed the successful removal of the template from the PoPD film. The QCM test showed that the Cu(II)-EDTA imprinted PoPD film had good Cu(II)-EDTA chelate sensitivity.