Heavy metal ion adsorption onto polypyrrole-impregnated porous carbon

Polypyrrole-impregnated porous carbon was readily synthesized using vapor infiltration polymerization of pyrrole monomers. The results show that the functionalized polymer layer was successfully coated onto the pore surface of carbon without collapse of mesoporous structure. The modified porous carbon exhibited an improved complexation affinity for heavy metal ions such as mercury, lead, and silver ions due to the amine group of polypyrrole. The introduced polypyrrole layer could provide the surface modification to be applied for heavy metal ion adsorbents. Especially, polymer-impregnated porous carbon has an enhanced heavy metal ion uptake, which is 20 times higher than that of adsorbents with amine functional groups. Furthermore, the relationship between the coated polymer amount and surface area was also investigated in regard to adsorption capacity.