Preparation of a chelating sorbent based on pyridylethylated polyethylenimine for recovering transition metal ions

A method was developed for preparing a chelating amino polymer, pyridylethylpolyethylenimine with maximal degree of substitution, by polymer-analogous transformations of branched polyethylenimine in reaction with 2-vinylpyridine. The ability of cross-linked pyridylethylpolyethylenimine with the degree of substitution of 0.32 to sorb Cu 2+ , Ni 2+ , Co 2+ , Zn 2+ , Cd 2+ , Mn 2+ , and Pb 2+ ions present simultaneously in solution was evaluated. In an ammonium acetate sorption system (pH 3.5–4.0), the sorbent selectively interacts with Cu(II) ions.