ISSN print edition: 0366-6352 ISSN electronic edition: 1336-9075 Registr. No.: MK SR 9/7 Published monthly

Adsorptive removal of heavy metal ions in water using poly(m-phenylenediamine) synthesized by laccase

Yue Xu, Ik-Keun Yoo, Haksung Lee, and Keungarp Ryu

University of Ulsan, Ulsan, Korea

E-mail: kgryu@mail.ulsan.ac.kr

Abstract: The polymer of m-phenylenediamine (poly(m-PDA)) which was synthesized by mild laccase catalysis in an aqueous buffer (10 mM citrate phosphate, pH 3) was investigated for the adsorption of several heavy metal ions including Pb²⁺, Cu²⁺, Co²⁺, and Cr³⁺. In the preliminary study for the adsorption of Pb²⁺ by poly(m-PDA), the adsorbed amount of Pb²⁺ was strongly influenced by solution pH being the highest in distilled water and decreased as solution pH was lowered from 5 to 2. The adsorption isotherms of the four heavy metal ions on poly(m-PDA) were well described by Langmuir equation. Poly(m-PDA) shows high maximum adsorption capacities (q_max) for Cu²⁺, Pb²⁺, and Cr³⁺ with the values of 556, 526, and 476 μmol g⁻¹, respectively. This study proposes that the synthesis of polymeric absorbents to remove heavy metal ions from water can be accomplished through simple and environmentally friendly enzymatic methods.

Keywords: Adsorption ; Heavy metals ; Laccase ; m-Phenylenediamine ; Polymer 

Full paper is available at www.springerlink.com.

DOI: 10.1007/s11696-019-00723-y

Chemical Papers 73 (7) 1705–1711 (2019)