Selective removal of 2,4-dichlorophenol from contaminated water using non-covalent imprinted microspheres

A molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) for selective removal of 2,4-dichlorophenol (2,4-DCP) in water was prepared as microspheres by the reverse microemulsion polymerization method based on the non-covalent interactions between 2,4-DCP, oleic acid, and divinylbenzene in acetonitrile. Microspheres have been characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FTIR) and energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer (EDS) studies with evidence of 2,4-DCP linkage in polymer particles and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to study their morphological properties. The proper adsorption and selective recognition ability of the MIP were studied by an equilibrium-adsorption method. The MIP showed outstanding affinity towards 2,4-DCP in aqueous solution and the optimum pH value for binding has been found around the neutral range. The molecular recognition of 2,4-DCP was analyzed in detail by using molecular modeling software. In addition, by investigating the variation in the adsorption ability of the MIP, it clearly showed excellent reproducibility.