Study on the Preparation and Performances of Thermoresponsive Imprinted Polymers for Selective Separation and Purification of Ru(III)
Wan Xu, Bingqian Wang, Yuan Sun, Yuan Sun, Xiaojian Ou, Yuanjun Sun, Yuanjun Sun, Peng Zhang, Zhenbin Chen
Abstract
Ruthenium, one of the platinum group elements, plays a crucial role in industrial development, and it is important to develop a material to separate and purify ruthenium with high efficiency to ensure its supply. Herein, a thermoresponsive Ru(III)-imprinted polymer (Ru(III)-TIIP) was prepared by combining thermoresponsive technology, Pickering emulsion technology, and imprinted technology. The Ru(III)-TIIP could regulate its structure by controlling the external temperature and maintained good adsorption and separation performance. The structure and performances of Ru(III)-TIIP were tested and evaluated by Fourier transform infrared, scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive spectrometry, transmission electron microscopy, specific surface area, porosity analysis, zeta potential, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, and inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry. The results showed that the maximum adsorption capacity ( Q ) of Ru(III)-TIIP was 0.2203 mmol/g under 33 °C. The maximum desorption rate ( D %) was 78.1%, which was reached at 25 °C. When Fe(III) was used as the interfering ion, the separation degree ( R ) of Ru(III)-TIIP was 3.2. Meanwhile, the study of the adsorption process of Ru(III)-TIIP to Ru(III) was more suitable to be expressed by pseudo-first-order kinetics and the Langmuir model. When Ru(III)-TIIP was applied to the platinum group catalyst leach solution, the content of platinum group elements ranged from 53.72 to 82.09% after one adsorption/desorption cycle. In addition, Ru(III)-TIIP had maintained 66.14 and 81.25% of the original capacity for Q and R after 11 adsorption/desorption cycles.