Polyelectrolyte CASA hydrogels for uptake of uranyl ions from aqueous solutions

Abstract

Abstract In this study, uranyl ion adsorption from aqueous solutions has been investigated by chemically crosslinked acrylamide/sodium acrylate (CASA) hydrogels. Adsorption studies were investigated by the spectroscopic method. CASA hydrogels with various compositions were prepared from ternary mixtures of acrylamide (A), sodium acrylate (SA), and water by free radical polymerization in aqueous solution, using multifunctional crosslinkers such as ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA). Uranyl ion adsorption from aqueous solutions was studied by the batch sorption technique at 25°C. The effect of uranyl ion concentration and mass of adsorbent on the uranyl ion adsorption were examined. In experiments of sorption, L‐type sorption in the Giles classification system was found. Some binding parameters, such as initial binding constant ( K i ), equilibrium constant ( K ), monolayer coverage ( n ), site‐size ( u ), and maximum fractional occupancy (Ô) for the CASA hydrogel–uranyl ion binding system, were calculated using the Langmuir linearization method. Finally, the amount of sorbed uranyl ion per gram of dry hydrogel ( q ) was calculated to be 4.44 × 10 −4 –14.86 × 10 −4 mol uranyl ion per gram for CASA hydrogels. Adsorption of uranyl ion (percentage) was changed within a range of 12.86–46.71%. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 104: 200–204, 2007