Template-synthesized ultra-thin molecularly imprinted polymers membrane for the selective preconcentration of dyes

Abstract

The selective and efficient removal of pollutants is essential for wastewater treatment and resource recycling. In this study, an ultra-thin molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) membrane with a thickness of 1 nm was synthesized by a facile atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) method using layered double hydroxides (LDH) as the template substrate. The as-prepared MIPs membrane was characterized by XRD, TEM, AFM, FTIR and BET measurements. This material was then applied for the selective preconcentration of Rhodamine B (RhB) in water. Benefiting from the surface-imprinting technique, a high adsorption capacity of 100.1 mg g⁻¹ was obtained with an enrichment multiple of 27.3 times. It was interesting that the MIPs adsorption was temperature-sensitive, which was employed as a simple and environmentally friendly desorption strategy by changing the operating temperature. The applicability of the material was demonstrated by recovering RhB from real water samples. These membrane-structured MIPs are highly selective, reproductive, and can be produced on a large scale, and thus are promising adsorbents for wastewater treatment and organic resource recycling.