Synthesis and application of chelating resins based on polyacrylonitrilediethylenetriamine for metal ions removal

Chelating resins based on polyacrylonitrile and diethylenetriamine (PAN-DTA) were prepared through the simple reaction of polyacrylonitrile with various volume percents of diethylenetriamine (DTA), (25, 50, 75 and 100). The prepared resins were applied to remove heavy metal ions such as Cu(II), Zn(II) and Cd(II) from aqueous solutions. The sorption behaviors of the resins for these metal ions were found to be greater at higher solution pH values. Highest sorption on PAN-DTA was determined as 5 mmol g-1 for Cu(II). The number of amine groups present in the resin (amine capacity) is depended on the volume percent of DTA and the maximum capacity was obtained 6.25 mmol g-1. The resins and their metal complexes have been studied by FT-IR spectroscopy, scanning electronic microscopy (SEM) and thermogravimetry analysis (TGA). All these analyses methods confirmed the presence of metal in the metal-resin complexes.