Removal of Heavy Metal Ions on Lead Ion‐Imprinted Modified Polyurethane Wet‐Spun Fibers

ABSTRACT The molecular imprinted polymers are prepared by molecular imprinting technique with specific selectivity in target substances. To prepare high performance and specific lead ion adsorbent, hence, chitosan was used to blend polyurethane; the modified fiber was a matrix for initiating graft polymerization of acrylic acid on surface. Lead ion imprinted fibers were prepared by lead‐ion as template and epichlorohydrin in crosslinking agent. The influence of graft rate and adsorption properties of imprinted materials for lead‐ions was analyzed. The result suggests that the maximum graft rate of acrylic acid is 59.10%; hydrophilicity and stability of grafted fiber membranes are significantly improved. Furthermore, the saturated adsorption capacity of lead ion imprinted fibers reaches the maximum under 20°C nearly neutral. The relative selection coefficients of lead ion for cupric ion and cadmium ion were 2.72 and 6.06, respectively. This indicates that the imprinted fibers show specific selectivity for lead ion used for a potential adsorbent in removing heavy metal ions.