Abstract

In the current study, poly(N-vinylpyrrolidone-co-2-acrylamido-2-methylpropanesulfonate sodium), poly(VP-co-AMPS), was prepared and used for the removal of Cu2+, Cd2+, and Ni2+ions via a polymer-enhanced ultrafiltration (PEUF) technique. The copolymer was synthesized by radical polymerization in an aqueous medium with a comonomer feed composition of 50:50 mol %. The molecular structure of the copolymer was elucidated by ATR-FTIR and 1H NMR spectroscopy, and the average molecular weight was obtained by GPC. The copolymer composition was determined to be 0.42 for VP and 0.58 for AMPS by 1H NMR spectroscopy. The copolymer and homopolymers exhibited different retention properties for the metal ions. PAMPS exhibited a high retention capacity for all of the metal ions at both pH values studied. PVP exhibited selectivity for nickel ions. Poly(VP-co-AMPS) exhibited a lower retention capacity compared to PAMPS. However, for poly(VP-co-AMPS), selectivity for nickel ions was observed, and the retention of copper and cadmium ions increased compared to PVP. The homopolymer mixture containing PAMPS and PVP was inefficient for the retention of the studied metal ions.