Construction of Novel Polymerizable Ionic Liquid Microemulsions and the In Situ Synthesis of Poly(Ionic Liquid) Adsorbents

This paper reports the successful construction of novel polymerizable ionic liquid microemulsions and the in situ synthesis of poly(ionic liquid) adsorbents for the removal of Zn2+ from aqueous solution. Dynamic light-scattering data were used to confirm the polymerization media and to illustrate the effect of the crosslinker dosage on the droplet size of the microemulsion. FTIR and thermal analysis were employed to confirm the successful preparation of the designed polymers and characterize their thermostability and glass transition-temperature value. The optimization of the adsorption process indicates that the initial concentration of Zn2+, pH, adsorbent dosage and contact time affected the adsorption performance of poly(ionic liquid)s toward Zn2+. Furthermore, our research revealed that the adsorption process can be effectively described by the pseudo second-order kinetic model and the Freundlich isotherm model.