Synthesis and Application of Novel Magnetic Ion-Imprinted Polymers for Selective Solid Phase Extraction of Cadmium (II)

Ion-imprinted polymers (IIPs) have received much attention in the fields of separation and purification. Nevertheless, selectivity of IIPs for trace target ions in complicated matrix remains a challenge. In this work, a cadmium magnetic ion-imprinted polymer (MIIP) was synthesized via surface imprinting, using methacrylic acid and acrylamide as dual functional monomers, vinyltrimethoxysilane as ligand, Fe3O4@SiO2 as support, azodiisobutyronitrile as initiator, and ethylene glycol dimethacrylate as crosslinker. The MIIP was characterized by transmission electron microscopy, infrared spectroscopy, thermal gravimetric analysis, and a vibrating sample magnetometer. The maximum adsorption capacities of the MIIP and magnetic non-imprinted polymer for Cd(II) were 46.8 and 14.7 mg·g−1, respectively. The selectivity factors of Pb(II), Cu(II), and Ni(II) were 3.17, 2.97, and 2.57, respectively, which were greater than 1. The adsorption behavior of Cd(II) followed the Freundlich isotherm and a pseudo second order model. The MIIP was successfully used for the selective extraction and determination of trace Cd(II) in representative rice samples. The limit of detection and recovery of the method was 0.05 μg·L−1 and 80–103%, respectively, with a relative standard deviation less than 4.8%. This study shows that MIIP provides an attractive strategy for heavy metal detection.