Synthesis and Characterization of Thiol-Functionalized Polynorbornene Dicarboximides for Heavy Metal Adsorption from Aqueous Solution

The contamination of water resources with heavy metals is a very serious concern that demands prompt and effective attention due to the serious health risks caused by these contaminants. The synthesis and ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) of norbornene dicarboximides bearing thiol pendant groups, specifically, N-4-thiophenyl-exo-norbornene-5,6-dicarboximide (1a), N-4-(methylthio)phenyl-exo-norbornene-5,6-dicarboximide (1b) and N-4-(trifluoromethylthio)phenyl-exo-norbornene-5,6-dicarboximide (1c), as well as their assessment for the removal of heavy metals from aqueous systems, is addressed in this work. The polymers were characterized by NMR, SEM and TGA, among others. Single and multicomponent aqueous solutions of Pb2+, Cd2+ and Ni2+ were employed to perform both kinetic and isothermal adsorption studies taking into account several experimental parameters, for instance, the initial metal concentration, the contact time and the mass of the polymer. In general, the adsorption kinetic data fit the pseudo-second-order model more efficiently, while the adsorption isotherms fit the Freundlich and Langmuir models. The maximum metal uptakes were 53.7 mg/g for Pb2+, 43.8 mg/g for Cd2+ and 29.1 mg/g for Ni2+ in the SH-bearing polymer 2a, 46.4 mg/g for Pb2+, 32.9 mg/g for Cd2+ and 27.1 mg/g for Ni2+ in the SCH3-bearing polymer 2b and 40.3 mg/g for Pb2+, 35.9 mg/g for Cd2+ and 27.8 mg/g for Ni2+ in the SCF3-bearing polymer 2c, correspondingly. The better performance of polymer 2a for the metal uptake was ascribed to the lower steric hindrance and higher hydrophilicity imparted by -SH groups to the polymer. The results show that these thiol-functionalized polymers are effective adsorbents of heavy metal ions from aqueous media.