Metal ion complexation of poly(acrylamide)‐supported amines crosslinked with N,N′‐methylene‐bis‐acrylamide

The complexation of amino functions supported on poly(acrylamides) with 2–20 mol‐% of N‐(acrylamidomethyl)acrylamide (NNMBA) crosslinks towards Co(II), Ni(II), Cu(II), Zn(II), and Hg(II) ions was investigated. The metal ion uptake was found to be dependent on the extent of the NNMBA crosslinking. The observed trend in complexation is Hg(II) ≫ Cu(II) > Zn(II) > Ni(II) > Co(II). The kinetics of complexation was found to be of first order. The derived metal complexes were characterised by IR and EPR. The complexed resins can be recycled several times without capacity loss. The metal‐desorbed resins showed specificity to the metal ion which was initially present. The extent of swelling of the complexed resins is lower than that of the uncomplexed resins and it varies with the extent of crosslinking.