Water-soluble Polyelectrolytes Contaning Sulfonic Acid Groups with Metal Ion Binding Ability by Using the Liquid Phase Polymer Based Retention Technique

Water-soluble polyelectrolytes from 2-acrylamido-2-methyl-1-propane sulfonic acid (APSA) were obtained by radical polymerization with different comonomers which contain weak acid and neutral groups. These copolymers were investigated as polyelectrolytes and polychelatogens, in view of their metal ion binding properties using the liquid-phase polymer-based retention (LPR) technique under different experimental conditions. The metal ions investigated were: Ag(I), Co(II), Cu(II), Zn(II), Cd(II), and Pb(II). APSA allowed increase metal ion interaction of weak acid, meanwhile did not improve the metal ion interaction of neutral monomers at these experimental conditions. Results indicated that retention capability depended strongly on the structure of the polyelectrolyte, arrangement of comonomers at main chain, pH, and the filtration factor, Z.