Preparation of ferrocyanide-imprinted pyridine-carrying microspheres by surface imprinting polymerization

Ferrocyanide-imprinted pyridine-carrying microspheres were prepared using ferrocyanide ions as a template. This method is based on a surface imprinting technique from the seed emulsion that consisted of 4-vinylpyridine (functional monomer), styrene, and butyl acrylate and a water mixture polymerization by a radical initiator. The ferrocyanide-imprinted microspheres had about 200 times higher adsorption affinity over the non-imprinted microspheres in ferrocyanide (template) ion adsorption. This imprinted microspheres also adsorbed other tripolyphosphate, pyrophosphate, and phosphate anions much more strongly than the non-imprinted microspheres did, but were not particularly specific in ferrocyanide ion adsorption.