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A modified two-step seeded polymerization was used for the preparation of porous mono-sized microspheres of poly(ethylene glycol dimethacrylate-co-1-vinylimidazole) [poly(EGDMA-co-VIM)] of 7 mu m in size. The specific surface area and the EGDMA/VIM molar ratio of the microspheres were determined as 64.5 m(2)/g and 1.5:1.0 mol/mol, respectively. The adsorption of Pb(II) ions from aqueous solution onto the porous mono-sized poly(EGDMA-co-VIM) microspheres was examined. The maximum adsorption capacities of the microspheres towards Pb(II) ions were determined as 21.74, 30.52, 49.23 and 56.48 mg/g at 293 K, 303 K, 318 K and 338 K, respectively. The dynamic and equilibrium adsorption behaviours of the system were adequately described by the pseudo-second-order kinetic model and the Langmuir isotherm, respectively. The apparent activation energy was determined as 6.212 kJ/mol, which is characteristic of a chemically controlled reaction. The values of E-fe obtained from the Dubinin-Radushkevich equation in the non-linear form were 9.153 kJ/mol at 293 K, 10.34 kJ/mol at 303 K, 10.18 kJ/mol at 318 K and 10.91 kJ/mol at 333 K, thereby indicating that the adsorption of Pb(II) ions onto the porous mono-sized poly(EGDMA-co-VIM) microspheres occurred via a chemical process at all the temperatures studied. Various thermodynamic parameters, such as the Gibbs' free energy change (Delta G(0)), the standard enthalpy change (Delta H-0) and the standard entropy change (Delta S-0) were also determined. The thermodynamic parameters obtained indicated that the adsorption process was endothermic in nature. These results demonstrate that the material studied could be used as a purifier for the removal of Pb(II) ions from water and wastewater.

Wastewaters often contain organics and heavy metals and simultaneous removal of these mixed contaminants using iron-based nanoparticles is still unclear. In this paper, chitosan stabilized bimetallic Fe/Ni nanoparticles (CS–Fe/Ni) used to remove mixed contaminants such as amoxicillin and Cd (II) was reported, where only 68.9% and 81.3% of amoxicillin and Cd (II) was removed in co-existing amoxicillin and Cd (II), while 93.0% and 90.9% were removed individually with an initial concentration of 60 mg/L within 60 min. SEM and EDS confirmed that chitosan served as a stabilizer to enhance the stability of Fe/Ni and to reduce aggregation of nanoparticles, while XRD and FTIR confirmed that iron oxides were formed and Cd (II) adsorbed onto iron oxides. CS–Fe/Ni exhibited functions such as the catalytic reduction of amoxicillin and the adsorption of Cd (II), which were confirmed by a pseudo first-order kinetic degradation and a pseudo second-order kinetic adsorption model. Here the activation energy for the degradation of amoxicillin was 60.9 kJ/mol and 22.0 kJ/mol for the adsorption of Cd (II), respectively. This indicated a chemically controlled reaction and adsorption. Finally, CS–Fe/Ni used to remove amoxicillin and Cd (II) in wastewater has been demonstrated. Refereed/Peer-reviewed

The magnetic-poly(divinylbenzene-1-vinylimidazole) [m-poly(DVB-VIM)] microbeads (average diameter 53-212 mu m) were synthesized and characterized; their use as adsorbent in removal of Cr(VI) ions from aqueous solutions was investigated. The m-poly(DVB-VIM) microbeads were prepared by copolymerizing of divinylbenzene (DVB) with 1-vinylimidazole (VIM). The m-poly(DVB-VIM) microbeads were characterized by N-2 adsorption/desorption isotherms, ESR, elemental analysis, scanning electron microscope (SEM) and swelling studies. At fixed solid/solution ratio the various factors affecting adsorption of Cr(VI) ions from aqueous solutions such as pH, initial concentration, contact time and temperature were analyzed. Langmuir, Freundlich and Dubinin-Radushkvich isotherms were used as the model adsorption equilibrium data. Langmuir isotherm model was the most adequate. The pseudo-first-order, pseudo-second-order, Ritch-second-order and intraparticle diffusion models were used to describe the adsorption kinetics. The apparent activation energy was found to be 5.024 kJ mol(-1), which is characteristic of a chemically controlled reaction. The experimental data fitted to pseudo-second-order kinetic. The study of temperature effect was quantified by calculating various thermodynamic parameters such as Gibbs free energy, enthalpy and entropy changes. The thermodynamic parameters obtained indicated the endothermic nature of adsorption of Cr(VI) ions. Morever, after the use in adsorption, the m-poly(DVB-VIM) microbeads with paramagnetic property were separeted via the applied magnetic force. The magnetic beads could be desorbed up to about 97% by treating with 1.0 M NaOH. These features make the m-poly(DVB-VIM) microbeads a potential candidate for support of Cr(VI) ions removal under magnetic field.