Synthesis of a molecularly imprinted polymer on mSiO2@Fe3O4 for the selective adsorption of atrazine

Atrazine contamination of water is of considerable concern because of the potential hazard to human health. In this study, a magnetic molecularly imprinted polymer for atrazine was prepared by the surface-imprinting technique using Fe3 O4 as the core, mesoporous silica as the carrier, atrazine as the template, and itaconic acid as the functional monomer. The magnetic molecularly imprinted polymer was characterized by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and vibration-sample magnetometry. The binding properties of the magnetic molecularly imprinted polymer toward atrazine were investigated by adsorption isotherms, kinetics, and competitive adsorption. It was found that the adsorption equilibrium was achieved within 2 h, the maximum adsorption capacity of atrazine was 8.8 μmol/g, and the adsorption process could be well described by the Langmuir isotherm model and pseudo-second-order kinetic model. The magnetic molecularly imprinted polymer exhibited good adsorption selectivity for atrazine with respect to structural analogues, such as cyanazine, simetryne, and prometryn. The reusability of the magnetic molecularly imprinted polymer was demonstrated for at least five repeated cycles without a significant decrease in adsorption capacity. These results suggested that the magnetic molecularly imprinted polymer could be used as an efficient material for the selective adsorption and removal of atrazine from water samples.