Ammonium-Functionalized Hollow Polymer Particles As a pH-Responsive Adsorbent for Selective Removal of Acid Dye

In this work, a novel type of ammonium-functionalized hollow polymer particles (HPP-NH3(+)) with a high density of ammonium groups in the shell has been specially designed and synthesized. Benefiting from both the high surface area and from the high density of positively charged ammonium groups, the as-prepared HPP-NH3(+) can serve as a selective adsorbent for the removal of negatively charged acid dye (e.g., methyl blue a-MB). The equilibrium adsorption data of a-MB on the HPP-NH3(+) were evaluated using Freundlich and Langmuir isotherm models, and Langmuir isotherm exhibited a better fit with a maximum adsorption capacity of 406 mg/g. Most importantly, because of the presence of dual functional groups (ammonium and carboxyl groups), the HPP-NH3(+) showed a significant pH-dependent equilibrium adsorption capacity, which increased dramatically from 59 mg/g to 449 mg/g as the solution pH decreased from 9 to 2. This uniqueness makes the dye-adsorbed HPP-NH3(+) can be facilely regenerated under mild condition (in weak alkaline solution, pH 10) to recover both a-MB and the HPP-NH3(+), whereas the recovery of conventional adsorbents is commonly performed under particularly severe conditions. The regenerated HPP-NH3(+) can be reused for dye removal and the dye removal efficiency remained above 98% even after five adsorption-desorption cycles. Because of its high adsorption capacity, pH-sensitivity, easy regeneration, and good reusability, the HPP-NH3(+) has great potential for the application in the field of water treatment, controlled drug release, and pH-responsive delivery.