Two-step polymerization approach for synthesis of macroporous surface ion-imprinted cryogels

Today, the surface imprinted polymers emerge in various fields as synthetic adsorbents gaining attention in a variety of application areas. In this study, Cu(II) ion surface imprinted poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate-glycidyl methacrylate), poly(HEMA-GMA), cryogels were synthesized via modified two-step polymerization which is different from given in literature and the adsorption of Cu(II) ion from aqueous solution was investigated batch wise. In this respect, the method applied in this study is new in the literature despite heavy metal removal studies reported. The polyethyleneimine (PEI) molecule was used in polymeric structure as a ligand. The poly(HEMA-GMA) cryogels prepared was characterized via Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES), elemental analysis, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and the micro-computed tomography (μCT).