Adsorption properties of Merrifield- chelating resins: a new alternative for Pb removal from water.

In this work, five new chelating resins (MR Bz) functionalized with -benzyl bis(carbamoyl)carboxylic acid molecules (Bz) on their surface were prepared to study the metal ion (M ) adsorption properties in water. MR Bz resins were characterized by FTIR, TGA, FESEM and EDS. The surface charge as a function of pH and the chemical adsorption of M on the surface were evaluated through zeta potential () measurements. The M adsorption capacity of MR Bz resins was evaluated using Pb, Cu, Cd, and Ni mixture model solutions at low concentrations. MR Bz resins displayed selective adsorption of Pb even in the presence of a molar excess of other cations, due to the intrinsic affinity and selectivity of Bz molecules for this metal ion. The adsorption isotherms of Pb showed that the adsorption capacity of MR Bz resins was influenced by the spacer chain length. In addition, the resins were characterized by FTIR, TGA, FESEM and EDS after the M adsorption process, confirming the M loading on the resin surface.