Metal ion‐imprinted polymer microspheres derived from copper methacrylate for selective separation of heavy metal ions

Microbeads of metal ion‐imprinted polymers (MIIPs) were prepared by a novel precipitation polymerization technique, in which copper methacrylate monomer and ethylene glycol dimethacrylate crosslinker were copolymerized in a rotary evaporator. The prepared microbeads had mono‐ or narrow size dispersity, and their sizes increased from 1 to 4 μm with decreasing solvent amount or increasing initiator concentration. The absorption capacity and selectivity of the imprinted polymer for copper ion were determined in the presence of various competitive metal ions. As results, adsorption equilibrium was quickly achieved in about 10 min with high absorbability (about 90%). The effects of pH, initial metallic ion concentration, and MIIP bead size on the absorption capacity were investigated. The Cu(II)‐imprinted polymers exhibited extremely high selectivity, which was much higher than that of corresponding blank polymers.