Application of ion imprinting technology in heavy metal waste treating and recycling

This paper is aimed to give a general review on the current status and progress of ion imprinting technology and its application in metal ion pollution and recycling use at home and abroad.Different processes of preparation of ion imprinting polymers,for example, bulk polymerization,in-situ polymerization,precipitation polymeriza- tion,surface molecular imprinting technique,membrane technology, micro-emulsion polymerization and ATRP (atom transfer radical poly- merization),with their performanc e compared,analyzed and general- ized.In this review,the prominence is given to the discussion and summarization of ion imprinting technology in treating heavy metal pollution and recycling use in different contexts.By nature,ion im- printing technology can successfully be applied to treat metal contami- nations,such as Cu~(2+),Fe~(2+),Hg~(2+),Zn~(2+),Cd~(2+),U~(2+)etc.In addition,we have specifically introduced ion imprinting polymers based on surface of different materials,such as chitosan,silica, mycelium.From reading of the reports in literature,it can be con- cluded that the adsorption capacity and adsorption rate of ion imprint- ing polymers can be heightened in varying degrees as compared to tra- ditional polymers,especially ion imprinting miscrospheres and ion surface imprinting polymers,which enjoy outstanding selectivity on the target ions.In summary,it can he said that ion imprinting poly- mers have such characteristics as promising mechanical stability, recognition capability,easy to be eluted and regenerated,thus,mak- ing its application widely accepted in ion separation,purification and recovery progresses and providing a foundation for its industrial appli- cation in treating metal ion pollution and recycling.Discussions about the problems of ion imprinting technology and developing trends are extended at the end of the paoer.