Highly polar polymeric sorbents - Characterization and sorptive propertiestowards phenol and its derivatives

Six porous copolymers of acrylonitrile (AN)/divinylbenzene (DVB) and methac rylonitrile (MAN)/DVB have been synthesised by suspension polymerization in the presence of inert diluents. They have different specific surface area (460-720 m(2)/g for AN/DVB and 560-730 m(2)/g for MAN/DVR) and contain vari ous amounts of the strongly polar nitrile groups, Their sorptive properties have been studied using dilute (0.5 mmol) solutions of phenol and its deri vatives (o-chlorophenol, o-, m- and p-nitrophenol, 2,3- and 2,6-dimethylphe nol, p-hydroxyphenol), It has been found that sorption of the most hydropho bic compounds and compounds capable of forming strong intramolecular hydrog en bonds does not depend on the polarity of the: polymer surface. Sorption of phenol and m- and p-nitrophenol is stronger on sorbents having more pola r groups. The influence of these groups on the sorption process is highly s ignificant in the case of hydrophilic, water soluble sorbates such as p-hyd roxyphenol. Polymeric sorbents were characterized using elemental analysis, inverse gas chromatography and their porous structure was characterized by nitrogen adsorption at 77 K. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights res erved.