Abstract
In the present work, we have investigated the modification of poly(vinyl chloride) using three beta-amino alcohols synthesized from limonene oxide (LO). Three polyamines: ethylenediamine (EDA), diethylenetriamine (DETA) and triethylenetetramine (TETA) were reacted with limonene oxide using water as a catalyst. Afterwards, the reaction of beta-amino alcohols with poly(vinyl chloride) was conducted successively, which gave three novel polymers P-1, P-2, P-3 and polymer P-4 derived from the crosslinking of P-1 by DETA. The products have been characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), element analysis (EA) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The novel chelating polymers were used in the extraction of hazardous metal ions: bismuth, iron, chromium, aluminum and lead from aqueous solutions. The polymers functionalized with various beta-amino alcohols showed a high selectivity in extraction of Bi(III) and Fe(III), especially in the case of P3. The efficiency of metal extraction process depends on the amine group content in the polymer as well as the sizes of cations and ligand cavities.