Azocalix[4]pyrrole Amberlite XAD-2: New polymeric chelating resins for the extraction, preconcentration and sequential separation of Cu(II), Zn(II) and Cd(II) in natural water samples

Two novel azocalix[4]pyrrole Amberlite XAD-2 polymeric chelating resins were synthesized by covalently linking diazotized Amberlite XAD-2 with calix[4]pyrrole macrocycles. The chelating resins were used for extraction, preconcentration and sequential separation of metal ions such as Cu(II), Zn(II) and Cd(II) by column chromatography prior to their determination by UV/vis spectrophotometry or flame atomic absorption spectrophotometry (FAAS) or inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES). Various parameters such as effect of pH on absorption, concentration of eluting agents, flow rate, total sorption capacity, exchange kinetics, preconcentration factor, distribution coefficient, breakthrough capacity and resin stability, were optimized for effective separation and preconcentration. The resin showed good ability for the separation of metal ions from binary and ternary mixture on the basis of pH of absorption and concentration of eluting agents. The newly synthesized resins showed good potential for trace enrichment of Cu(II), Zn(II) and Cd(II) metal ions, especially for Cu(II), as compared to the earlier reported resins. The synthesized resins were recycled at least 8–10 times without much affecting column sorption capacity. The presented method was successfully applied for determination of Cu(II), Zn(II) and Cd(II) in natural and ground water samples.