Design, synthesis, and study of Pd(II) ion-imprinted functionalized polymer

Selective metal ions' extraction and recovery has various applications in the analytical field. Metal ions need to be extracted, detected, and quantified. For that purpose, ion-imprinted polymers have earned a great deal of attention during the past two decades. Pd²⁺ ion-imprinted hollow silica particles including an isatin Schiff base were prepared by Schiff base condensation of (3-aminopropyl)triethoxysilane and isatin. The prepared Schiff base ligand was coordinated to the target Pd²⁺ cations, the polymerizable Pd-complex was set aside to form gel in the company of tetraethoxysilane and the target Pd²⁺ cations were subsequently removed from the cross-linked silica network by means of acidified thiourea solution. All materials throughout this synthesis process were investigated utilizing mass spectrometry, elemental analysis, FTIR, and ¹H-NMR. The morphological structure of both Pd²⁺ ion-imprinted and non-ion-imprinted silica polymer were pictured by scanning electron microscopy. Several batches were studied exploiting both Pd²⁺ ion-imprinted and non-ion-imprinted silica polymer to test their functionality for selective extraction of Pd²⁺ cations in multi-ionic solution of Ni²⁺, Co²⁺, Cu²⁺, Mn²⁺, and Pd²⁺.